Fannie Mae CEO and board members to exit

Succeeding Frater on an interim basis is company president David Benson. During his 20-year tenure at Fannie, Benson has served in several C-suite positions, including executive vice president and chief financial officer. He is also currently a member of the board of managers at Common Securitization Solutions, a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac joint venture.

The board of directors announced that it plans to conduct a national search for a permanent CEO.

Outgoing board chair Sheila Bair will be replaced by Michael Heid, who worked in Wells Fargo Home Mortgage for 10 years before retiring in 2016. Separately, Fannie Mae announced that board member Antony Jenkins will also resign. Both Bair and Jenkins cited time commitments as the reason for their departure.

“I’ve been privileged to serve this institution and its dedicated employees as we have remained relentlessly focused on the needs of homeowners and renters through a pandemic, tumultuous market conditions, and a transition in administrations,” Bair said. “Unfortunately, I have found it difficult to meet the substantial time demands of this position while fulfilling my other board and advisory responsibilities.”