Fannie Names Former BofA Exec as New Chief
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Timothy J. Mayopoulos, who was a general counsel at Bank of America during the financial crisis, has been named the next chief executive of mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

Mayopoulos, a lawyer, joined Fannie Mae as its general counsel in 2009 after leaving Bank of America.

He will take over June 18 for Chief Executive Michael Williams, who announced in January he would step down from Fannie once a new chief executive had been found. Mayopoulos will be Fannie’s third CEO since the government took over the mortgage giant.

“I am excited, but I’m not naïve,” Mayopoulos told The New York Times about his new role. “I know this is a very difficult and challenging job.”

Mayopoulos told the Associated Press that Fannie will continue to focus on helping distressed home owners and reducing losses on its loans. Fannie Mae last month posted its first profit since the government took conservatorship of it in 2008.

Among the decisions Mayopoulos faces in his new role is whether Fannie will permit principal write-offs on underwater home owners’ mortgages that it owns. Many members of Congress have supported the idea, while Fannie’s regulator has opposed it.

“I’ve been involved in examining that issue,” he told The New York Times. “We have the tools we need to assist home owners with troubled mortgages. I don’t believe we need principal forgiveness as a tool. We are already effective with the tools we have.”

Source: “Fannie Mae Names Its Top Lawyer as Chief,” The New York Times (June 5, 2012) and “Fannie Mae Names General Counsel Mayopoulos as New CEO,” The Associated Press (June 5, 2012)