Fannie Mae Chief Executive Timothy Mayopoulos will step down by year-end, the government-sponsored enterprise said Monday.
Mayopoulos, who has run the GSE since 2012, will continue to serve as CEO until his departure, working with the board as it begins its search for a successor.
The announcement came as Fannie announced that it had promoted David Benson to president. Benson has served as Fannie’s vice president and chief financial officer for the past five years. Celeste Brown, the deputy CFO, was promoted to fill Benson’s slot.
"Dave is a natural choice for the president position," Egbert L.J. Perry, Fannie’s chairman, said in a press release. "He is an excellent leader who has held a variety of senior positions in his 16 years at Fannie Mae. He has deep expertise in the company's business, the mortgage market, and operations."
Benson has worked at Fannie since 2002, serving in a variety of areas, including capital markets, securitization and corporate strategy. Brown joined Fannie last year after working for 18 years at Morgan Stanley. She spent 11 years as an equity research analyst before moving into management positions at Morgan and eventually being named global treasurer.
The leadership changes at Fannie come amid continued questions about the future of the GSEs. The Trump administration recently released a broad plan to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie Mac and to create additional competitors. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, has said the issue of housing finance reform will be taken up next year.
