Mortgage giant Freddie Mac names new CEO amid privatization talks

David Brickman will be government-sponsored enterprise's 4th leader since financial crisis

David Brickman (Credit: Freddie Mac)
David Brickman (Credit: Freddie Mac)

Freddie Mac has promoted its president, David Brickman, to CEO, marking the company’s fourth leader since the financial crisis.

Brickman will take over in July, replacing Donald Layton, who has been CEO since 2012 and plans to retire, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Before he was named Freddie Mac’s president in September, Brickman was head of the government-sponsored enterprise’s multifamily lending.

He will lead the mortgage-finance giant at a time when discussion has been circling around whether Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae should be privatized.

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Lawmakers have been trying and failing to overhaul Freddie and Fannie for more than 10 years.

Both agencies were brought under government conservatorship in 2008, during the financial crisis. They are regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has control over much of their business decisions.

Officials in President Trump’s administration have made recent statements indicating they plan to take the companies out of conservatorship soon.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve indicated that it will likely not raise interest rates in 2019, holding a rate of 2.25 to 2.50 percent. This could lead to lower mortgage rates and more demand for Freddie Mac mortgages. [WSJ] Keith Larsen