Fannie CEO Defends Charter

Bracing for a legislative battle on how his company might be regulated, Fannie Mae chairman Franklin Raines said Wednesday that any "material change" to its charter "would constitute a material change in the nation's long-held commitment to homeownership."In a speech billed by the company as a "housing policy address," Mr. Raines told those in attendance at George Washington University that "curtailing the flow of housing capital" would hurt President Bush's "vision of a greater ownership society." Early in 2004, Congress is expected to renew efforts to create a new regulator for Fannie Mae and its rival, Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is against the idea of housing both the safety-and-soundness regulator and the mission regulator at the Treasury Department, which is what the Bush White House has proposed.