Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison is, if the rumors are true, about to be nominated to be assistant secretary for the Office of Financial Stability. That's the office in charge of running the $700B TARP program. From all accounts, Allison has stabilized Fannie Mae as much as possible, given its balance sheet and record setting losses quarter after quarter lately. He's also kept the focus on Fannie Mae's multifamily mission - which is the only source of finance right now for this asset class. Of course it's good news for the TARP program that a seasoned executive whose been in the thick of its since last September will be in charge. What about Fannie Mae though? It really is the only game in town for developers and property owners. AvalonBay, just to cite on example, recently closed on a $400M fund that will be levered to deliver $1.5B in purchasing power. What has it acquired so far? Nada. And it won't until the economy stabilizes. Let's hope whomever steps up to the role of CEO at Fannie Mae keeps that in mind.
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Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
