Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has pressed Bank of America President and CEO Kenneth Lewis for details about the call recording and archiving system used by Countrywide in regard to its infamous VIP mortgage program.
According to Issa, Bank of America has confirmed that the recording system, known as the NICE system, is no longer in the bank's possession.
"The fact that recordings once existed but are not within the bank's possession and the bank’s refusal to fully explain why this is the case raises important questions,” he wrote.
Issa’s letter to Lewis poses a list of 12 questions about the system, the information it held and decisions made regarding destruction of the system and its archived materials.
Several public figures have been tied to Countrywide’s VIP program, which was also dubbed “Friends of Angelo,” a reference to former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. Among those linked to the program are Senate Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson.
Residential Mortgage
