Hello, LOs!
Freddie Mac announced today that Jerry Mauricio, who has served as the entity's chief compliance officer since January 2021, will transition to the permanent role.
He's been at the company since 2019. He'll report directly to Freddie Mac's CEO, Michael DeVito. As CCO, Mauricio will oversee Freddie Mac's compliance risk management program for its regulatory and conservatorship obligations.
Michael DeVito, who has been CEO of Freddie Mac for two months, praised Mauricio's compliance and management expertise in a press release. "I look forward to working closely with [Mauricio] as we ensure Freddie Mac's safety, soundness and risk management are second to none," DeVito said.
Mauricio's transition to the permanent role comes as the regulated entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are reckoning with something of a staffing problem. In recent months, they can't seem to keep high-level staff from leaving.
The federal government likes having both the companies in conservatorship, both because the arrangement is very lucrative for the Treasury, and because it allows the executive branch to exert an extraordinary amount of control over credit pricing and availability in the housing market.
That control is especially important for making meaningful changes to the housing finance system without having to wait for Congress to reach an agreement. (Don't expect a landmark housing investment from Congress in the short-term. A vote to move forward with a more- modest-than-planned infrastructure bill fizzled on Wednesday.)
The downside of conservatorship, if you work at one of the regulated entities, is the compensation. Former employees at the GSEs have said that's what's driving talented executives to look for positions in the private sector.
We're not exactly sure how high turnover is at both of the GSEs, although retention was enough of a concern to be brought up in Fannie Mae's last annual statement.
Right now, according to LinkedIn, there are 130 open positions at Freddie Mac. About a quarter of those were posted within the last 24 hours. A spokesperson for Freddie Mac wouldn't say how many vacancies there are at the company.
But now that its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has an acting director who is on the same page as the Biden administration, perhaps the GSEs are looking to build up their ranks again.
LOs, what do you think of the executive branch's control over the nation's housing finance system? And if Congress can't agree on even a modest infrastructure package, what's the alternative?
Georgia Kromrei
Senior Mortgage Reporter, HousingWire
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