Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader Calls for Investigation of Treasury Department's Handling of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Conservatorship

April 11, 2011



Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader Calls for Investigation of Treasury Department's

Handling of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Conservatorship



Nader Says High-ranking Government Officials Made Misleading Statements

about the Financial Health of Fannie & Freddie



In a letter to Department of the Treasury Inspector General Eric Thorson, Senator Tim Johnson, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Representative Spencer Bachus, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Mr. Nader raised a variety of questions about the manner in which Treasury Department officials established the conservatorships for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the way the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) delisted the companies from the New York Stock Exchange.



Mr. Nader said, “the Treasury Department Inspector General and Congressional Committees with appropriate jurisdiction are in the best position to conduct a thorough investigation of the way Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common shareholders have been used and abused by the Treasury Department.



Nader noted that high-ranking government officials including: former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, former Senator Christopher Dodd, Representative Barney Frank, and former OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart, made positive comments about the financial health of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in July of 2008, just two months prior to the creation of the conservatorship.