Fannie, Freddie CEOs in Line for Millions in Severance

The CEOs of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will receive millions in severance pay, pension payouts, and other benefits after the government’s takeover of the mortgage giants, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fannie’s Daniel Mudd stands to take away $7.3 million, and Freddie’s Richard Syron will get $6.3 million—though the companies’ tanking stock makes the severance packages much smaller.

But critics, among them Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, say the two should leave without reward. “Under no circumstances should the executives of these institutions earn a windfall,” Obama wrote. Added another critic: “It's just another example of pay for failure.” Concurred one analyst: “It's still a substantial payoff for an executive who has managed a company so badly that the federal government has had to step in and save it.” (More Fannie Mae stories.)