Obama to Tap Fannie Mae CEO to Head TARP: Source

[elleng]

Source: NYT/Reuters

The Obama administration is expected to name Fannie Mae <FNM.N> Chief Executive Herb Allison to head the U.S. government's $700 billion financial rescue program, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The announcement is expected "in coming days," the source said, adding that Michael Williams, Fannie Mae's chief operating officer, is expected to be named as Allison's successor.



Read more: http://nytimes.com/reuters/2009/04/13/business/business-us-obama-fannie.html

[AnnieBW]

1. Wingnut heads exploding in 5...4...3...2...1...

BOOM! Goes the dynamite!

:nuke:

[Uzybone]

2. more

Herbert M. Allison, Jr. (born 1943) was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Fannie Mae in September 2008 by Director James Lockhart of Federal Housing Finance Agency, as conservator of Fannie Mae.
Prior to being appointed to Fannie Mae, he was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF from 2002 until his retirement in 2008.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. OK, somebody come & explain to me

why this, like Geithner & Rahm, is really a wonderful idea.

[Mari333]

4. ANOTHER fox in charge of the henhouse

this is like a clusterfuck of mutual masturbation with these bankers.

[SpartanDem]

5. He's only be there since Sept 2008

after the government takeover, he had nothing do with it how was run before.

[soccermomforobama]

8. Agreed. I am sure that some will try and make him a scapegoat

like they made Libby of AIG the scapegoat and that was misplaced anger also since Libby was brought in by the government and was not at AIG when the shit hit the fan.

[notesdev]

10. Libby was from Goldman Sachs and still holds $3 mil in stock

this is a rigged game, people, and you, the taxpayer and citizen, are getting reamed.

[notesdev]

9. Yeah he comes from MERRILL LYNCH

the guy above who said "fox guarding the henhouse" is right

Does Obama take economic policy advice from anyone who is not a crook?

[SpartanDem]

12. Why he is a crook

because he worked for them a decade ago? Please tell me you aren't trying use this dumbass argument

[notesdev]

15. Look at his resume

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_M._Allison

This guy has been in the thick of the financial sector for decades. Hell, he was chairman of the NY Stock Exchange during the very period of time the economic bubble was being pumped up! Anyone who could do that and NOT be on the record calling out the scam for what it is, is part of the problem.

And now he leaves Fannie Mae an even bigger mess than it was a mere six months ago when he took over, to head up a program that is incontrovertibly a vehicle for financial institutions to loot the Treasury.

Paragon of virtue, this man is not.

[Uzybone]

16. I guess he should get a kid from High School

[w4rma]

22. I'm sick of that talking point that there isn't anyone with experience except for the crooks.

Here is someone who would do a fantastic job and Obama doesn't seem to want her, or anyone as ethical as her, near his administration:

Brooksley Born
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2009/marapr/features/born.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5397942

[No Elephants]

24. Right, Because those are the only two choices, a kid from high school or one of these slimes..

[SpartanDem]

17. I looked at his resume.

who do think we should appoint to these positions rocket scientist? . As far I can tell he never ran his companies into the ground or did something unethical. I don't count simply working in the financial sector as indicator of virtue or the lack thereof

[notesdev]

19. Maybe a little background research will help

like a simple google search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=TIAA+CREF+scandal&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

Amazing how the dates of the scandals line up with the tenure of Mr. Allison. Also very interesting is the nature of the scandals - financial improprieties, conflicts of interest - in short, all the same BS that brought us to where we are today.

I humbly suggest that Obama pick people who got it RIGHT, not those who got their hands stuck in the cookie jar. There are people like that out there, you know. For example, William Black would be an excellent replacement for any (and all) of the administration's economic advisors.

What he has to his credit is having been the lead regulator in cleaning up the Savings & Loan scandal. That's the kind of person I want to see in charge of cleaning up this mess. The last kind of person I want to see involved is the kind of person who handsomely profited from the bubble-blowing shenanigans of the financial sector, like... oh, say, to pull out a random name... Herb Allison.

[No Elephants]

23. What's magical about a decade ago? This crap has been going on since the 80's.

[saigon68]

28. Well Blago from Chi-Town is available

[elleng]

11. Allison, a veteran banker and former president of Merrill Lynch,

led the TIAA-Cref pension fund before being appointed Fannie Mae CEO in September.

(A friend of mine said that TIAA-CREF is and has been a well-run fund.)

[Jennicut]

6. He has been there like less then a year. He has nothing to do with what happened

[madrchsod]

7. ok..i`m taking back everything i`ve said about krugman

i retract what i said about the new guy....i hope the hell he knows what he`s doing.

[iandhr]

13. Can't we wait and see

[elleng]

14. I don't think we have a choice!

.

[high density]

18. No Obama should appoint a total fool who has no prior experience

Experience == bad!!!

[No Elephants]

26. No prior experience and another one who helped bring America to its knees are the only choices?

[No Elephants]

25. Wait for what? Until another creep doesn't do diddly to get America out of this hole

[rollingrock]

20. I guess it could have been worse

He could have put Rahm Emanuel in charge.

Rahm Emanul, Career in Finance

After serving as an advisor to Bill Clinton, in 1998 Emanuel resigned from his position in the Clinton administration and became an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella (now Dresdner Kleinwort), where he worked until 2002.<28> In 1999, he became a managing director at the firm’s Chicago office. Emanuel made $16.2 million in his two-and-a-half-year stint as a banker, according to Congressional disclosures. At Wasserstein Perella, he worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC Communications.

Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") by then President Bill Clinton in 2000. His position earned him at least $320,000, including later stock sales.<30><31> He was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, and the Board met no more than six times per year.

During his time on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Obama Administration rejected a request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for Congress.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel#Career_in_finance

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. Good find, and welcome to DU

:hi:

[No Elephants]

27. Rahm's otherwise occupied-running the country.

[saigon68]

29. Yes he is -----isn't he?