Fannie Mae is considering the head of a banking industry trade group and its own general counsel as possible replacements for departing Chief Executive Michael Williams, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Citing sources familiar with the search, the Journal reported Thursday that Fannie's general counsel, Timothy Mayopoulos, has emerged as the leading internal candidate to replace Williams, who
The Journal said that recruiters have also contacted a number of outside candidates, including David Stevens, the CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, and Shekar Narasimhan, a mortgage industry consultant.
Both Fannie and Freddie Mac are in the market for new CEOs. Freddie's CEO, Charles Haldeman, announced in October that he intends to step down sometime this year. Fannie has hired the firm Heidrick & Struggles to head its search while Freddie has selected to Spencer Stuart to lead ist recruitment efforts, according to news reports.
Mayopoulos has been general counsel at Fannie since 2009. He previously held the same post at Bank of America Corp., preceding Brian Moynihan, who later became the bank's CEO. With its 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial, B of A is now Fannie's largest customer.
