Fannie, Freddie Pay: Execs' Multi-Million Dollar Salaries REVEALED

[democracy1st]

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators plan to disclose Thursday that the top executives of government-controlled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each earned between $4 million and $6 million this year, two people briefed on the matter said.

The people, who declined to be identified because the announcement was not yet public, said Wednesday that the pay packages were approved by the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie.


Fannie and Freddie, which were seized by regulators in September 2008, have needed $111 billion in taxpayer aid to stay afloat.


The pay packages for Fannie's CEO, Michael Williams, and Freddie CEO Ed Haldeman are expected to be similar to each other and are to be paid in cash because the companies shares are nearly worthless. Fannie and Freddie also plan to disclose pay packages for several other senior executives.

Salaries for executives at Fannie and Freddie are not subject to approval by the government's pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, but the arrangements still need to be scrutinized and approved by regulators.

Freddie Mac hired Haldeman, a former mutual fund executive, in July. At the time, the company disclosed his annual salary of $900,000 but did not disclose other incentive payments. In September, it hired a new chief financial officer, Ross Kari, and said his pay package would be worth up to $5.5 million.

Williams, formerly Fannie Mae's chief operating officer, took over as CEO after the first government-appointed CEO, Herbert Allison, took a job at the Treasury Department. Williams earned a base salary of $676,000 last year, plus a retention award of $260,000.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/24/fannie-freddie-pay-execs-_n_402825.html



Fannie And Freddie Receive Unlimited Future Funds To Stay Afloat


The Treasury Department said Thursday it removed the $400 billion financial cap on the money it will provide to keep the companies afloat. Already, taxpayers have shelled out $111 billion to the pair, and a senior Treasury official said losses are not expected to exceed the government's estimate this summer of $170 billion over 10 years.

Treasury Department officials said it will now use a flexible formula to ensure the two agencies can stand behind the billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities they sell to investors. Under the formula, financial support would increase according to how much each firm loses in a quarter. The cap in place at the end of 2012 would apply thereafter.

By making the change before year-end, Treasury sidestepped the need for an OK from a bailout-weary Congress.

While most analysts say the companies are unlikely to use the full $400 billion, Treasury officials said they decided to lift the caps to eliminate any uncertainty among investors about the government's commitments. But the timing of the announcement on a traditionally slow news day raised eyebrows.


"The companies are nowhere close to using the $400 billion they had before, so why do this now?" said Bert Ely, a banking consultant in Alexandria, Va. "It's possible we may see some horrendous numbers for the fourth quarter and, thus 2009, and Treasury wants to calm the markets."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide vital liquidity to the mortgage industry by purchasing home loans from lenders and selling them to investors. Together, they own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.5 trillion, or about half of all mortgages. Without government aid, the firms would have gone broke, leaving millions of people unable to get a mortgage.

The biggest headwind facing the housing recovery has been the rise in foreclosures as unemployment remains high. The two companies, facing mounting losses from mortgage defaults, were taken over by the government in September 2008 under the authority of a law Congress passed in the summer of 2008.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/24/fannie-mae-and-freddie-ma_0_n_403413.html

[Romulox]

1. What's Timmy's percentage?

[waiting for hope]

6. That pic is just too creepy ...

he's got an unnaturally high forehead .. like he's storing stuff in there ... Ahh, I know what I was thinking when I saw it!

[ima_sinnic]

10. lol!

:spray:

[Romulox]

13. It's called the "Uncanny Valley"

Mori's hypothesis states that as a robot is made more humanlike in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong repulsion. However, as the appearance and motion continue to become less distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.<6>

This area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and motion between a "barely human" and "fully human" entity is called the uncanny valley. The name captures the idea that a robot which is "almost human" will seem overly "strange" to a human being and thus will fail to evoke the empathic response required for productive human-robot interaction.<6>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

[waiting for hope]

16. Timmeh is a robot ...

:spray:

[inna]

11. Between Timmy and Rahmmy...

It is absolutely painfully clear who this administration works for.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7331135&mesg_id=7337746



Here's another sneaky and disgusting "Christmas gift" to financial industry, just saw this today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504534_pf.html
U.S. gave up billions in tax money in deal for Citigroup's bailout repayment

Firms exempted from rule when U.S. sells its stake

The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis.

The Internal Revenue Service on Friday issued an exception to long-standing tax rules for the benefit of Citigroup and a few other companies partially owned by the government. As a result, Citigroup will be allowed to retain billions of dollars worth of tax breaks that otherwise would decline in value when the government sells its stake to private investors.

While the Obama administration has said taxpayers are likely to profit from the sale of the Citigroup shares, accounting experts said the lost tax revenue could easily outstrip those profits.

The IRS, an arm of the Treasury Department, has changed a number of rules during the financial crisis to reduce the tax burden on financial firms. The rule changed Friday also was altered last fall by the Bush administration to encourage mergers, letting Wells Fargo cut billions of dollars from its tax bill by buying the ailing Wachovia.

"The government is consciously forfeiting future tax revenues. It's another form of assistance, maybe not as obvious as direct assistance but certainly another form," said Robert Willens, an expert on tax accounting who runs a firm of the same name. "I've been doing taxes for almost 40 years, and I've never seen anything like this, where the IRS and Treasury acted unilaterally on so many fronts."

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/bailout_bailed_out_obama_admin_grants_mega_tax_bre.php

Obama Admin Grants Mega Tax Break To Citi In Bailout Deal

Did the Obama Administration just deliver a $38 billion stealth bailout to Citigroup?

According to several outside experts the answer is yes, but the Treasury is maintaining an IRS ruling that granted Citi a $38 billion tax break was routine and proper.

The IRS decision came as part of a deal for Citi to pay back $20 billion, which was announced earlier this week amid mutual back-patting. One benefit for Citi is being freed from salary restrictions.

But with the IRS notice, "all Citi is doing is saying to the government, we'll give you $20 billion if you give us the $38 billion tax dodge," Barry Ritholtz, the chief market strategist for Fusion IQ, tells TPMmuckraker. "It's a giant fraud."

"Giant fraud" is right. What kills me is that it's done with absolute impunity, without any oversight or discussion and with complete and utter disregard and even contempt for the people who they are supposed to represent. "Fat cat banksters" get giant tax breaks and UNLIMITED bailouts without any hesitation, while struggling working/middle class people can't even get decent health coverage. After all this months of ridiculousness in congress, the best they could come up with is a massive and hugely regressive stealth tax on middle class which doesn't make health care affordable or even accessible but is disguised as a health care "reform"!

:banghead:

To say Obama is a total disappointment is a major understatement.

[Initech]

2. WTF is all this money being used for?

We're being bled fucking dry and these motherfuckers are still making money hand over fist. :grr: :grr: :banghead: :banghead:

[Hannah Bell]

4. it's being used to bleed you dry, need you ask? that's how the rich stay rich.

[Initech]

14. Ah good ol' Reagonomics at work. I get it now!

[Hannah Bell]

3. They're private, not public, corps, under "conservatorship" - like the banks were.

[girl gone mad]

5. I managed to come up w/ a headline for this topic earlier..

but lacked time to write out a post.

"Despite bottomless bailout, Fannie and Freddie pay packages through the roof"

you like?

;)

[democracy1st]

7. +1 great title its speaks volumes about whats taking place right before our eyes!

[AllentownJake]

8. Paulson cracked the safe

and Geithner is emptying it. The next Treasury Secretary will be driving the getaway car.

[JCMach1]

9. How about 50k and stock options... that would seem fitting!

[phasma ex machina]

12. Former Fannie Mae CEO Raines took hundreds of millions in bonus during his reign. nt

[clear eye]

15. Reminds me too much of Bush's judgeship recess appointments. n/t