President Barack Obama announced his formal nomination of Fannie Mae's chief executive Herb Allison to run the Treasury's $700 billion bank rescue program on Friday. The official presidential nod was widely expected, although the nomination still requires confirmation from the Senate before Allison can take up his post in the Treasury office.
Allison will replace Neel Kashkari as assistant secretary for Financial Stability and will also serve as counselor to the Secretary, advising on economic policy matters. If instated, Allison will be responsible for overseeing the financial bailout program and allocating what's left of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding - approximately $110 billion.
Allison stepped into the head spot at ""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com last September when the government seized control of the GSEs. James Lockhart, director of the GSEs' conservator, the ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov (FHFA), said Allison ""has done an outstanding job leading Fannie Mae during a challenging period.""
Lockhart announced on Monday that Fannie's board has selected Michael Williams to assume the role of the company's president and CEO upon Allison's exit. Williams, who joined Fannie Mae in 1991, has been serving as COO since 2005. According to Lockhart, he worked closely with Allison during the months since the company was placed in conservatorship, and most recently, Williams led Fannie Mae’s participation in the administration’s Home Affordable Modification and Refinance programs.
Fannie Mae Chairman Philip A. Laskawy said in a statement that Williams ""has demonstrated time and again his ability to successfully lead and execute some of the most important initiatives the company has undertaken.""
Fannie's sibling mortgage finance company, ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com, is still looking for a chief executive. David Moffett resigned from the position in March after just six months at the helm. The company's chairman John Koskinen is currently serving as interim CEO.