Top Execs Booted at Fannie Mae

Paulson says US emerging from storm

(NEWSER) - The US is emerging from the credit woes triggered by the turmoil over subprime mortgages—despite the continuing wave of foreclosures across the nation, according to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Paulson, in the most positive comments yet from the White House on the nation's economic troubles, in part credited the federal bailout of Bear Stearns, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

(NEWSER) - Freddie Mac, the swamped mortgage giant seized by the government two months ago, asked for $13.8 billion from the Treasury today after a record quarterly loss plunged its net worth into the negative, Bloomberg reports. Sister company Fannie Mae, also under government control, said this week it might need funds beyond the $100 billion previously earmarked for each of the firms before the end of the year. More»

Fannie-Freddie bailout shows Treasury sec enjoys a free hand

(NEWSER) - Last week, a small group met in the Oval Office to discuss the impending takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But while President Bush convened the meeting, there was no mistaking who was running the show: Hank Paulson, who had first floated public ownership and who oversaw every aspect of the bailout. The Fannie-Freddie conservatorship, which flies in the face of normal Bush policy, is only the latest demonstration of the treasury secretary's considerable clout. More»

As both companies plummet, combining them might make sense

(NEWSER) - With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struggling to stay afloat, arguments for a merger are gathering steam. “Sometimes size can be a strength,” writes Andrew Ross Sorkin in the New York Times. The companies spent $1.825 billion in total overhead in the first half of 2008 doing exactly the same thing; a merged entity could save some $1.2 billion a year. More»

(NEWSER) - As the stock prices of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunged 80% this year, employees of the companies helplessly watched their fortunes sink with the ship, the New York Times reports. For instance, Fannie Mae’s workers owned $116 million in company stock at the end of 2006; today it’s worth $17.5 million. The sale of stock and options paid to employees was often restricted, making diversification difficult. More»