Critics have long questioned the outsize pay packages and lucrative share sales of Countrywide Financial Corp.’s chairman and chief executive, Angelo Mozilo. But outside members of the company’s board also have above-average compensation, and three of them have sold more than $2 million of Countrywide shares apiece since mid-2006. The directors are likely to be in the spotlight in the months ahead as the nation’s biggest home-mortgage lender by loan volume struggles with rising defaults and a drooping share price. They face tricky choices in deciding how much to challenge 68-year-old Mr. Mozilo, who co-founded the company 38 years ago. After Countrywide reported a $1.2 billion loss for the third quarter, Mr. Mozilo put his credibility on the line by forecasting late last month that the Calabasas, Calif., company will make a modest profit in the current quarter, despite continued turmoil in the markets. Countrywide’s stock is down 66% so far this year.
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