In the beginning, Countrywide was a pioneer in the nationwide non-bank mortgage industry. Mozilo was very concerned with the quality of credit borrowers and the quality of their loans. When subprime loans came onto the scene in the late 1980s (Guardian S&L) and 1990s (The Money Store), his company did not participate. He privately described the subprime loan mavericks of the 1990s as 'crooks'. However, his company began to lose business to the subprime lenders. He had to compete with them or keep losing market share. Thus, by the early 2000s (decade), Countrywide began using subprime loans.