Fannie, Freddie Execs Get Big Bucks Despite Downturn
By Sonari Glinton
A new report out this week is criticizing the pay for top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those are the mortgage giants that were taken over by the government at the height of the financial crisis. They've cost taxpayers $130 billion and counting.
Since the bailout, the top six executives have been paid more than $35 million. That news comes as Congress is deciding the fate of Fannie and Freddie, as NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.
SONARI GLINTON: Freddie Mac's chief executive, Charles Haldeman, got nearly $8 million in 2009 and 2010. His counterpart at Fannie Mae, Michael Williams, got more than $9 million in the same period.
Professor RICHARD GREEN (University of Southern California): The way these guys are being compensated now is sort of the way CEOs of profitable banks would be.
GLINTON: Richard Green is a professor at the University of Southern California. He specializes in real estate. He says figuring out what to pay execs at Fannie and Freddie is hard because they don't really have counterparts in the private or public sector.
Prof. GREEN: These are not banks. They're specialized financial institutions. They're supposed to help provide mortgage credit to people. And second, they're broke, and they wouldn't be there if the government weren't pumping money into them.