Lawmaker says had no Countrywide "sweetheart deal"

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) responds to President George W. Bush's FY 2009 Budget during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington February 4, 2008.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sen. Kent Conrad never asked for or expected discounted mortgages or a "sweetheart deal" from Countrywide Financial CFC.N, he wrote in a letter appearing in Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal.

"There is nothing I value more in my public life than the trust I have earned from my constituents in North Dakota, and I will take every measure possible to ensure them that I sought no favor, expected no favor, and was not aware of any favor provided by Countrywide Financial," the Democratic senator wrote.

Reuters reported on Friday a congressional ethics panel is examining allegations that Conrad and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, received preferential loans from Countrywide.

Both have acknowledged they refinanced properties as members of Countrywide's VIP program, but Conrad wrote in his letter the loans he received through Countrywide were "completely within what was commercially available in the market, and widespread practice among mortgage lenders".

Conrad wrote that he asked a friend who knew a lot about mortgages for advice. The friend was with Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo, who spoke briefly to Conrad and referred him to a junior loan officer.

"In terms of questions about this matter, I immediately disclosed my personal financial records to the news media, answered every reporter's question and sought out guidance from the Senate Ethics Committee," Conrad wrote.

Bank of America (BAC.N) agreed in January to pay $4 billion for Countrywide, a California-based lender that helped fuel years of a housing boom that went bust when risky loans to less-qualified borrowers began to fail.

Countrywide's lending practices have been criticized by consumer advocates, lawyers and politicians.

(Reporting by Robert MacMillan; editing by Sue Thomas)