Former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo warned as early as 2004 of a possible housing-market collapse while the Federal Reserve overlooked the threat a year later, according to documents released by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

The congressionally appointed panel said this week that the crisis could have been avoided through better corporate management and government oversight.

Mozilo agreed in a record $67.5 million settlement to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that he misled investors by not disclosing deteriorating mortgage conditions while he sold his Countrywide shares. He wrote in an e-mail in September 2006 that Countrywide was “flying blind” and had “no way” to determine the risks of some adjustable- rate mortgages, according to an SEC complaint.

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