Review finds Fannie Mae problems in check
Rudman report says the mortgage giant’s major accounting errors already have been disclosed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fannie Mae’s principal accounting errors in a multi-billion-dollar scandal have already been disclosed, and no member of current management knowingly participated in improper behavior, the company’s internal review showed Thursday.
The report from former Sen. Warren Rudman of New Hampshire blamed Fannie’s former chief financial officer Timothy Howard and former controller Leanne Spencer for the bad accounting.
But the long-awaited Rudman report said it did not find that former chief executive officer Franklin Raines knew the company’s accounting departed from generally accepted practices in significant ways.
“We did find, however, that Raines contributed to a culture that improperly stressed stable earnings growth and that, as the Chairman and CEO of the Company from 1999 through 2004, he was ultimately responsible for the failures that occurred on his watch,” the Rudman report said.
Read original article: http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/23/real_estate/fannie.reut/index.htm