Fannie Mae names new CEO

(AP) WASHINGTON - Timothy Mayopoulos, the general counsel of Fannie Mae, will be the next CEO of the government-controlled mortgage giant.

Fannie Mae says Mayopoulos, 53, will become president and chief executive officer on June 18. He replaces Michael J. Williams, who announced in January that he would step down after a successor was found.

Washington-based Fannie Mae says Mayopoulos, 53, will become president and chief executive officer on June 18. He replaces Michael J. Williams, who announced in January that he would step down after a successor was found.

The government rescued Fannie and smaller sibling Freddie Mac in September 2008 after the two companies absorbed huge losses on risky mortgages that threatened to topple them. Since then, a federal regulator has controlled the two companies' financial decisions.

So far, Fannie and Freddie have cost taxpayers about $170 billion - the largest bailout of the financial crisis. It could cost roughly $260 billion more to support the companies through 2014, after subtracting dividend payments, according to the government.

Mayopoulos will be the third CEO of Fannie Mae since the government takeover. Williams oversaw the restructuring of Fannie's foreclosure-prevention efforts and managed the troubled company's reorganization.

In his executive roles, Mayopoulos has managed Fannie's human resources policies, communications and marketing, and government relations, the company said Tuesday.

Pressure has been building for the government to eliminate or transform Fannie and Freddie and reduce taxpayers' exposure to further losses.

The Obama administration unveiled a plan last year to slowly dissolve Fannie and Freddie, with the goal of shrinking the government's role in the mortgage system. The proposal would remake decades of federal policy aimed at getting Americans to buy homes and could make home loans more expensive.

Exactly how far the government's role in mortgages would be reduced was left to Congress to decide. But all the options the administration presented would create a housing finance system that relies far more on private money.

Fannie and Freddie buy loans from lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default and sell the bonds to investors. Together, the companies own or guarantee about half of U.S. home mortgages - about 31 million home loans - and nearly all new mortgages.

Before joining Fannie Mae in 2009, Mayopoulos was executive vice president and general counsel of Bank of America Corp. He also has served as a senior executive at Deutsche Bank (DB), Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Last month, Freddie named Donald Layton, the former chief executive of discount brokerage firm E-Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC), as its new CEO. He replaced Charles E. Haldeman Jr.