Executive Pay Hearing Postponed

A Capitol Hill hearing planned for Thursday on executive compensation featuring current and ex-CEOs of Countrywide Financial(CFC Quote), Merrill Lynch(MER Quote) and Citigroup(C Quote) has been postponed a second time, TheStreet.com has learned.

The House Oversight Committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D, Calif.), invited Countrywide chief Angelo Mozilo, along with former Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince and former Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal, to testify on the subject of their lavish pay packages.

A spokesman for the committee confirmed that the hearing is postponed, but declined to say whether it has been rescheduled. Patricia McCoy, a corporate governance professor with the University of Connecticut who was scheduled as a witness in the hearing, said the hearing was postponed due to the death of Mozilo's mother, and she said the hearing was going to be rescheduled in two weeks.

Countrywide did not immediately respond to an inquiry from TheStreet.com.

The hearing was originally scheduled for Feb. 7, but was postponed due to scheduling conflicts.

The pay packages for all three executives are controversial, since they appear to be an outsized financial reward for failed leadership, with shareholders footing the bill.

Mozilo reportedly stood to collect $115 million after his firm agreed in January to a $4 billion sale to Bank of America (BAC Quote). After facing criticism from lawmakers, Mozilo said he would forfeit $37.5 million in payments tied to the deal.

Meanwhile, Prince left Citigroup with approximately $68 million, while O'Neal collected about $161 million after he stepped down in October. Both Citigroup and Merrill Lynch reported billions of dollars in losses on risky investments in mortgage-backed securities.

The heads of each company's compensation committee were also scheduled to testify, including former Time Warner(TWX Quote) CEO and Citigroup director Dick Parsons, real estate developer and Countrywide director Harley Snyder and Chubb(CB Quote) CEO and Merrill director John Finnegan.