Angelo Mozilo, one of the most-recognized faces of the 2008 financial crisis, has died.
Mozilo, co-founder and former CEO of Countrywide Financial, died of natural causes at 84, according to a statement from his family foundation.
Countrywide rode the subprime wave to become the nation’s biggest mortgage lender. Mozilo received a liftetime achievement award from American Banker in 2006.
Bank of America bought the lender in a fire sale in early 2008.
Though he never faced criminal charges, Mozilo reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission – without admitting or denying wrongdoing – for $67.5 million.