All the Devils Are Here [1]
Angelo Mozilo Co-founder and CEO until 2008. Dreamed of spreading homeownership to the masses. Became a billionaire in the process, but couldn’t resist pressure to enter the subprime mortgage business.
David Sambol The head of Countrywide’s sales force. Aggressively pushed Countrywide to keep up with subprime lenders.
Eric Sieracki Longtime Countrywide employee who was named CFO in 2005.
Primary Residential
Dave Zitting Old-school mortgage banker who steered clear of subprime lending.
Ownit
Bill Dallas Founder of Ownit, a subprime company in which Merrill Lynch held a 20 percent stake.
THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
American International Group (AIG)
Steve Bensinger CFO under Martin Sullivan from 2005 to 2008.
Joe Cassano CEO of AIG Financial Products from 2001 to 2008.
Andrew Forster One of Cassano’s chief deputies in London.
Al Frost AIG-FP marketer at the center of the multisector CDO deals that put AIG on the hook for $60 billion of subprime exposure.
Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg AIG’s CEO from 1968 to 2005. Forced to resign by Eliot Spitzer.
Gene Park AIG-FP executive who noticed the early warning signs on multisector CDOs.
Tom Savage CEO of AIG-FP from 1994 to 2001.
Howard Sosin Founder of AIG-FP. Ran it from 1987 to 1993.
Martin Sullivan Succeeded Greenberg in 2005. Forced out by the board in 2008.
Robert Willumstad Sullivan’s successor as CEO until the financial crisis hit four months later.
Bear Stearns
Ralph Cioffi Bear Stearns hedge fund manager. His two funds—originally worth $20 billion—went bankrupt in the summer of 2007 because of their subprime exposure.
Matthew Tannin Cioffi’s partner. Cioffi and Tannin were tried for fraud and found not guilty.
Steve Van Solkema Analyst who worked for Cioffi and Tannin.
Fannie Mae
Jim Johnson CEO from 1991 to 1998. Perfected Fannie’s take-no-prisoners approach to regulators and critics.
Daniel Mudd CEO from 2005 to 2008.
Franklin Raines CEO from 1999 to 2004. Forced to step down over an accounting scandal.
Goldman Sachs
Josh Birnbaum Star trader who specialized in the ABX index.
Lloyd Blankfein Current CEO.
Craig Broderick Current chief risk officer.
Gary Cohn Current president and COO.
Jon Corzine Senior partner who convinced the partnership to go public. Replaced by Hank Paulson within days of the IPO.
Steve Friedman Co-head of Goldman Sachs with Robert Rubin.
Dan Sparks Head of the Goldman mortgage desk from 2006 to 2008.
Michael Swenson Co-head of the structured products group under Sparks.
John Thain Co-COO under Paulson until 2003.
Fabrice Tourre Mortgage trader under Sparks. Later named as a defendant in the SEC’s suit against the company.
David Viniar CFO.
J.P. Morgan
Mark Brickell Lobbyist who fought derivatives regulation on behalf of J.P. Morgan and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. President of ISDA from 1988 to 1992.
Till Guldimann Executive who led the development of Value at Risk modeling and shared VaR with other banks.
Blythe Masters Derivatives saleswoman who put together J.P. Morgan’s first credit default swap in 1994.
Sir Dennis Weatherstone Chairman and CEO from 1990 to 1994.
Merrill Lynch
Michael Blum Executive charged with purchasing a mortgage company, First Franklin, in 2006. Served on Ownit’s board.
John Breit Longtime Merrill Lynch risk manager who specialized in evaluating derivatives risk.
Ahmass Fakahany Co-president and COO under CEO Stanley O’Neal.
Greg Fleming Co-president—with Fakahany—until O’Neal’s resignation in 2007.
Dow Kim Head of trading and investment banking until 2007.
David Komansky O’Neal’s predecessor as CEO.
Jeffrey Kronthal Oversaw Merrill’s mortgage trading desk under Kim. Fired in 2006.
Dale Lattanzio Chris Ricciardi’s successor as the leader of Merrill Lynch’s CDO business.
Stan O’Neal CEO from 2002 to 2007. Created the culture that allowed the buildup of Merrill Lynch’s massive exposure to securities backed by subprime mortgages.
Tom Patrick CFO under Komansky and executive vice chairman under O’Neal. Seen as O’Neal’s ally until O’Neal