Dartmouth Board of Trustees Chairman Ed Haldeman 70 is the leading candidate to be chief executive officer of Freddie Mac, the beleaguered government-sponsored loan corporation, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. Haldeman announced late Tuesday evening that he would step down as chairman of the board of directors of Putnam Investment Management.
When reached for comment by The Dartmouth on Wednesday, Haldeman said he would not comment until an official statement had been released.
Freddie Mac, which received an additional $6.1 billion from the Treasury Department on Wednesday, was placed in a federal conservatorship in September 2008 as the government began to respond to the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Haldeman's appointment as CEO would therefore require approval by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department.
Neither Freddie Mac nor the FHFA could be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon, and a representative from the Treasury Department told The Dartmouth she "could not comment now while that is just a possibility."
If selected, Haldeman would replace John Koskinen, who has served as interim CEO since David Moffett stepped down abruptly this March. Moffett had served as CEO for only six months.
Wednesday's loan brings increases Freddie Mac's total debt to the federal government to $51.7 billion, with $149.3 billion remaining in its federal line of credit
Haldeman has a history of being tapped to stabilize institutions in the midst of crisis. In 2003, he was selected to be president and CEO of Putnam Investment Management after his predecessor resigned following a series of trading scandals that seriously damaged the company's reputation. He was elected chairman in 2007, and has been credited with furthering compliance and ethics standards at the company. He stepped down as president and CEO in June 2008.
While Haldeman succeeded in stabilizing Putnam, he could not turn around its performance. The company managed assets estimated at $370 billion in 2000, according to The Wall Street Journal, but at the end of 2007, Putnam's quarterly performance report stated that the company held $186 billion, down almost 50 percent.
Haldeman, who joined Dartmouth's Board of Trustees in 2004, was elected chairman in 2007. A major contributor to the College, Haldeman and his wife gave $10 million in 2004 to support the construction of the Haldeman Center, which houses the Dickey Center for International Understanding, the Leslie Center for the Humanities and the Ethics Institute.
Haldeman majored in economics at Dartmouth, graduating summa cum laude before attending both Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School. Two of his three children, Catherine Haldeman 03 and Charlotte Haldeman 08, also attended the College.
Roland Adams, director of media relations, said the College did not have comment on Haldeman's candidacy on Wednesday.
Article first posted July 1, 2009 at 2:00 a.m.
