Pros
There was a time when I would have said work/life balance and the pay. But now I don't even think those are worth it.
Cons
There has long been a group of senior executives that used to work together at Countrywide, and over the last five years they have slowly taken over virtually all departments at the senior- and mid-levels. As a result, there is rampant cronyism and nepotism. Mediocre or incompetent ex-CW executives are shuffled from one role to another, rather than just let go. They've created a culture of fear and incivility, where everyone is afraid to lose their jobs or cross the wrong executive and decisions are made based on certain executives personal preferences, rather than what's strategically sound. It's not all just ex-CW of course; it's also employees who are willing to be sycophants to the ex-CW crew. Decisions are made based on personal vendettas and alliances, and strategy changes often without any coherent explanation. Relatives of executives with no related experience are hired. People who are inexperienced--but solid sycophants--are promoted. Cost-cutting initiatives--which were once part of improving the balance sheet in order to acquire other banks--no longer make sense. Previous decisions to reduce costs--which have been quantified and successful--have been reversed without a logical explanation. Layoffs continue in the name of streamlining, but the people left are working longer hours without an increase in pay. Employees are being squeezed. The ex-CW crew has brought along their culture and are often unwilling or unable to listen to other people's ideas. They believe that if something worked at CW, it should work here too. Sadly they seem to have forgotten that CW failed.