CEO’s Test Limits of Congressional Sympathy

The oversight committee is looking at a systematic problem in corporate governance- why does the rise of CEO salaries sometimes bear no relation with their companies’ performance? But it is hard not to personally target the corporate executives providing testimony: former Citigroup CEO Charles Prince, Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo and Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O’Neal.

So there is some effort to say nice things. During his opening statement oversight committee chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said that the subprime CEO’s testifying were “classic American stories” who “achieved incredible success through hard work and ability.”

In their opening testimony that just wrapped up, The CEO’s themselves made a personal appeal.

“As the first member of my family to go to college, I am extremely grateful for the opportunities Citigroup gave me,” said Charles Prince.

Mozilo said that he was a first-generation U.S. citizen with a passion for encouraging home ownership among minority groups. O’Neal noted this his grandfather was born into slavery and that he grew up in a federal housing project.

“Eventually they were able to save enough money to make a down payment on their first house,” O’Neal said. “Watching my parents work and save to afford their own home gave me a unique pride and satisfaction that comes with home ownership.”
Mozilo and O’Neal’s voluntary discussion about the joys of home ownership doesn’t seem like the best way to defuse the committee’s upcoming questions, but maybe it’s crazy enough to work.