The Federal Housing Finance Agency has picked an accountant to help shepherd Fannie Mae and a turnaround pro to fix up Freddie Mac. Philip A. Laskawy, CEO of Ernst and Young from 1994-2001, now serves as nonexecutive chairman at Fannie. John A. Koskinen stepped into the same role at Freddie; he helped lead turnarounds at Mutual Benefit Life Insurance and other companies.
In other GSE news, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sent out a Financial Institution Letter on September 18 discussing bank investments in Fannie and Freddie securities. Among other caveats, the letter states: “For the limited number of smaller institutions with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac equity securities that are significant compared to their capital, the FDIC is committed to a flexible supervisory approach and will work with institutions that need to develop a Capital Restoration Plan under the Prompt Corrective Action guidelines… .The FDIC will also take into account the unique nature of this situation when considering requests for waivers from brokered deposit restrictions.”
