Fannie CEO May Lead Government Bailout

President Barack Obama is expected to name Fannie Mae's chief executive ""Herb Allison"":http://www.fanniemae.com/aboutfm/executives/allison.jhtmlxp=About+Fannie+Mae&s=Executives to head the government's $700 billion bank bailout program, according to a report published Tuesday by the _""Wall Street Journal"":http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123966400746315067.html_.
Sourcing ""people familiar with the matter,"" the _Journal _said an official announcement from the president could come sometime later this week regarding his nomination of Allison. The financial industry veteran would assume the post of assistant secretary for the Office of Financial Stability, replacing Neel Kashkari, who has served as interim assistant secretary since last October.
A former top executive at TIAA-CREF and Merrill Lynch, Allison took over the reins at Fannie Mae in September when the Bush administration placed the GSEs under government conservatorship and ousted the residing chiefs of both companies.
If Allison is confirmed for the assistant Treasury secretary position, it will leave the top spots vacant at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Freddie's CEO David Moffett resigned last month after just six months at the helm.
President Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have had a difficult time populating their financial team. According to the _Journal_, a number of candidates being looked at to head the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) have either fallen short in the vetting process or have pulled themselves out of the running. Hedge-fund manager Frank Brosens of Taconic Capital Advisors, formerly the leading candidate for the post, withdrew for personal reasons late last month.
Although the administration has already ""dropped $590.4 billion"":http://dsnews.comindex.php/home/news_story/2832 of the $700 billion TARP purse, if instated as the new assistant secretary of Financial Stability, Allison will be responsible for allocating the remaining funds and defending any subsequent requests to Congress for additional cash.