Baker Slams Fannie Over MH Assets

Meanwhile, the elected official with chief oversight authority over Fannie Mae slammed the mortgage giant and its supporters Thursday for sticking their heads in the sand in regard to the company's accounting woes.Reacting to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's mandate to Fannie that it write down the value of its $8 billion manufactured housing portfolio, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., said, "I really don't know how much longer anyone can continue credibly standing there with his finger in the dike, holding back tougher regulatory oversight of the housing GSEs." Rep. Baker, chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee charged with overseeing government-sponsored enterprises, said, "Clearly, OFHEO's forensic audit of Fannie Mae's books needs to continue, without which we would know nothing of these problems." Legislation to create a new regulator for Fannie and Freddie appears dead for this year.