Fannie Mae CEO answers hard questions

Calcutta News.Net
Thursday 21st August, 2008

Investors reckon that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are running on borrowed time.

Since Monday, stock in the two companies, which together hold or guarantee half the U.S. mortgage debt, have plunged nearly 40 percent and are now trading at lows not seen in nearly two decades.

Shares of the mortgage finance companies lost more than a fifth of their value on Wednesday as fears mounted that the companies will soon need government support.

Stockholders are worried they will be left in the cold if there is a bailout.

Fannie Mae's chief executive has sought to reassure investors that no bailout is imminent.

According to Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd, who spoke to public radio in the US, there would be no bailout as Fannie Mae hadn't asked for one.

Mudd said the company's financial position 'remains very strong,' and that he intends to remain the CEO.

Have your say on this story