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For Immediate Release

March 31, 2004
Contact: corprel@freddiemac.com
or (703) 903-3933

 

FREDDIE MAC HOLDS ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS' MEETING

Stockholders Elect Board of Directors; Re-appoint Independent Auditor

McLean, VA - Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) Chairman and CEO Richard F. Syron today during the company's annual stockholders' meeting reaffirmed Freddie Mac's unwavering commitment to making homeownership more affordable for all American families and underscored the proactive steps the company is taking to restore public and investor confidence.

During the meeting, Freddie Mac's stockholders elected 13 directors to the company's Board of Directors, and ratified the re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) as the company's independent auditor for 2003. Each director was elected to office by at least 92 percent of the votes cast. The re-appointment of PwC as Freddie Mac's independent auditor for 2003 was ratified by 98 percent of the votes cast. (See Freddie Mac's Information Statement Supplement dated March 31, 2004.)

Chairman and CEO Syron's Remarks

"As a GSE (Government Sponsored Enterprise), Freddie Mac has special privileges, but with special privileges come special responsibilities," Syron told the meeting. "It is our privilege to act as a public policy instrument to house this nation. It is our responsibility to keep the company safe and sound and to fulfill our mission. Our job is too essential not to get it right."

Freddie Mac is rebuilding the company's entire accounting and financial reporting systems, Syron noted. In addition, the company has adopted new corporate governance guidelines, established a plan for an orderly rotation of the Board of Directors, and recently filled several key executive positions. At the same time, Freddie Mac is focusing sharply on its mission.

"You have my commitment that we will fix what is wrong, and we will do more that is right," Syron said. "All this will require some amount of change. When change is necessary, it must happen. And at Freddie Mac, change is here to stay."

Board of Directors

At the beginning of the meeting, Syron announced that the board learned this morning that Donald J. Schuenke, a Freddie Mac Director since 1990 and the Non-Executive Chairman of Allen-Edmonds Shoe Company, died last night. Syron reflected on Schuenke's dedication as a Freddie Mac director, and noted his 31-year career with Northwestern Mutual, where Schuenke served as CEO for 10 years.

The Board named a substitute nominee, William I. Ledman, Freddie Mac Senior Vice President, Information Systems and Services, to replace Schuenke. Ledman joined Freddie Mac in 1994, and is responsible for developing and upgrading and effective system infrastructure and for ongoing support for supporting corporate business initiatives.

In addition to Richard Syron and William Ledman, the other directors elected to Freddie Mac's Board of Directors are:

  • Joan Donoghue, Vice President and Acting General Counsel, Freddie Mac.

  • Michelle Engler, Attorney and Trustee of the JNL Investor Series Trust.

  • Richard Karl Goeltz, Retired Vice Chairman, Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Office of the Chief Executive, American Express Company.

  • George D. Gould, Vice Chairman of Klingenstein, Fields & Company.

  • John B. McCoy, Retired Chairman of Bank One Corporation.

  • Shaun F. O’Malley, Retired Chairman of Price Waterhouse LLP.

  • Ronald F. Poe, President of Ronald F. Poe & Associates.

  • Stephen A. Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Finance and Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

  • Christina Seix, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Seix Investment Advisors Inc.

  • William J. Turner, Co-Manager of Signature Capital Inc

In a meeting of the Board of Directors immediately following the stockholders' meeting, Syron was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Freddie Mac and Shaun O'Malley was elected Lead Director, a position he has held since Syron became Chairman and CEO on December 31, 2003.

The Board of Directors also made the following Board committee appointments:

  • Audit Committee: Richard Goeltz, chairman; Shaun O’Malley, Stephen Ross, and William Turner, members.

  • Mission and Sourcing Committee: Ronald Poe, chairman; Michelle Engler, George Gould, Henry Kaufman, John McCoy and Christina Seix, members.

  • Governance and Nominating Committee: George Gould, chairman; Richard Goeltz, Henry Kaufman, John McCoy, Shaun O’Malley and Ronald Poe, members.

  • Finance and Capital Deployment Committee: Henry Kaufman, chairman; Richard Goeltz, George Gould, Stephen Ross, Christina Seix and William Turner, members.

  • Compensation and Human Resources Committee: John McCoy, chairman; Michelle Engler, Shaun O’Malley, and Ronald Poe, members.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has opened doors for one in six homebuyers in America.

Freddie Mac's earnings releases and other financial disclosures are available on the Investors' page of the company's website

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