Major Presence By Countrywide Raises Questions

With five buildings and thousands of employees located in the city, Simi Valley is the main West Coast presence of Countrywide Financial Corp. The company’s Simi campus is also the second largest in the nation, although it is now under the ownership of Bank of America following a $2.5 billion merger that finalized in July. The substantial investment made in the facilities and the infrastructure necessary to operate business functions would be prohibitive to replace and almost guarantees that BofA won’t be pulling up stakes any time soon. Besides, said a Countrywide spokesman, the loan administration business done in the Simi offices is a growing one “That is a unit of great importance,” Rick Simon said. That may seem counter to the otherwise bad news Countrywide has faced over the past year from layoffs, lawsuits filed by attorney generals in a number of states into the company’s lending practices, and a federal investigation into former CEO Angelo Mozilo. Not to mention that Countrywide became a target for the cause of the housing slump through its sub-prime mortgage loans to borrowers with poor credit who later could not afford their payments. The loan administration division has become a growth area for the company as the home retention functions have been beefed up to assist homeowners in making payments, Simon said. The company’s larger properties are at 400 Countrywide Way (295,000 square feet) and a building at 450 American Street that had been expanded to 206,000 square feet. The company also owns buildings at 2900 Madera Road, (74,000 square foot) and 1800 Tapo Canyon Road (220,000 square feet) and leases 98,000 square feet at 1757 Tapo Canyon Road. A building at 2950 Madera Road is a vacant 123,000 square foot warehouse previously owned by clothing retailer Bugle Boy. All the facilities have a capacity to house as many as to 6,000 employees, Simon said. Countrywide also has a small loan administration center in Lancaster that is tied into the Simi Valley operations. Larger administration campuses are in Texas and Arizona. The presence isn’t just as an employer. Countrywide is a member of the chamber of commerce and sponsors events by that organization and others in the city. One of their buildings still appears on the cover of the Chamber’s latest business directory. With the merger between Countrywide and North Carolina-based BofA less than two months old, there are a lot of unknowns about what will happen as the two companies consolidate their operations. BofA has stated it is committed to the mortgage business and maintaining a presence in California. The new headquarters for the mortgage, insurance, home equity division will remain in Calabasas, where Countrywide’s headquarters had been. Simi Valley officials, of course, stay informed of what is going on with both companies. City Manager Mike Sedell and Assistant City Manager and Economic Development Director Brian Gabler have been the city’s contacts with BofA executives. “We are making a case with them that this is as good a location as any in the country,” Sedell said. As the city’s largest private employer, Mayor Paul Miller would like to see Countrywide keep as many employees in the city as possible. But even if they were to move out of some of their buildings, Miller didn’t see that as a problem as it would free up office space that is lacking in the city. “Those empty spaces will be snapped up quickly,” Miller said. “We have businesses in the San Fernando Valley who would love to come here but we are short of space.” The Economic Development Collaborative Ventura County has also kept an eye on the developments between Countrywide and BofA but has not taken any proactive steps to directly talk with the bank, said President and CEO Bruce Stenslie. The collaborative does stay in contact with the city through Gabler and is supportive of what steps have been taken to state the city’s case, Stenslie said. Less of a concern than the company pulling out of Simi would be a slow erosion of BofA’s presence there. Since its headquarters are on the East Coast, facilities on the West Coast may not be a priority. That is something that Stenslie will be on alert about for the next two to three years. “When you are a satellite location you don’t have the benefit of the same kind of attention and investment,” Stenslie said.