Fannie Mae’s president and CEO Daniel H. Mudd announced a restructuring of the organization’s management team yesterday with a series of senior executive promotions, effective immediately. Mudd said the new assemblage will oversee and implement the company’s capital management and credit loss reduction plan announced as part of its second quarter results. The newly appointed executives include Peter Niculescu, who has assumed the duties of chief business officer, David C. Hisey as CFO, and Michael Shaw as chief risk officer.
“After setting forth our capital and credit plan August 8, we are now putting a senior management structure in place to drive this plan across the company,” Mudd said. “This team will be responsible for meeting the dual objectives of conserving capital and controlling credit losses while Fannie Mae continues to provide crucial liquidity to the U.S. housing and mortgage markets. As we move through the bottom of this cycle, maintaining capital, managing credit and driving revenues are the priorities — and we have to organize and staff accordingly.”
As EVP and chief business officer, Peter Niculescu will be responsible for the three Fannie Mae business divisions — Single-Family Mortgage Guaranty, Capital Markets, and Housing and Community Development. In addition, Niculescu will oversee the implementation of the company’s capital management and credit-loss reduction plan. In his previous position as EVP and head of Fannie Mae’s capital markets business, Niculescu was responsible for the management of the company’s on-balance sheet portfolio investments, including interest rate risk management, asset acquisition, and funding. Before joining Fannie Mae in March 1999, Niculescu was managing director and co-head of fixed-income research and strategy for Goldman Sachs. Niculescu will replace the current EVP and chief business officer, Robert J. Levin, who will retire from the company early next year after 27 years of service.

David C. Hisey will replace Stephen Swad as EVP and CFO. In this role, Mudd said, Hisey is responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of the company’s financial reporting and accounting, and internal controls, and he will assist Niculescu in carrying out Fannie Mae’s capital management plan to ensure the company remains in a solid capital position. Previously SVP and controller, Hisey joined Fannie Mae in 2005 and according to Mudd, played a key leadership role in the company’s restatement. Hisey has more than 25 years of financial services experience in mortgage, consumer, and commercial lending, and capital markets. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, he was corporate VP of financial services consulting, managing director, and practice leader of BearingPoint’s Lending and Leasing Group. Before joining BearingPoint, Hisey was an audit partner at KPMG LLP with a focus in the mortgage industry.
Michael Shaw has been named chief risk officer, replacing Enrico Dallavecchia. In this position, Shaw has overall responsibility for credit, market, counterparty, and operational risk oversight for all business units within Fannie Mae, and oversees the formulation of risk policies as well as the measuring, reporting, and monitoring of Fannie Mae’s risk profile. Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 2006, Shaw held senior executive positions at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Prior to that, he was responsible for all credit risks in the consumer bank at Chase Financial Services. Previously, he held senior risk management roles at GE/GE Capital, and served in several risk management roles during a 25-year career at Citibank.
In addition, David C. Benson, currently SVP and treasurer, has been promoted to EVP of Fannie Mae’s capital markets and treasury department, with management responsibilities for the company’s retained mortgage investment portfolio, liquidity, and debt issuance. Benson joined Fannie Mae in 2002. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Benson was managing director and head of e-commerce for the fixed-income division at Merrill Lynch.
“The Board of Directors is firmly committed to Dan Mudd, the management restructuring, and the strategic objectives around capital and credit he set forth on August 8,” Board Chairman Stephen B. Ashley said. “The Board will continue to work closely with Dan and his management team to guide the company and support the housing finance system through a very challenging period.”