Fannie Insiders Have Sold 91K Shares

As Fannie Mae's accounting scandal has worsened in recent months, company insiders -- including top officers and directors -- have been unloading thousands of shares, according to publicly available trading records.Over the past six months, insiders -- including embattled chief financial officer Timothy Howard -- have sold 91,000 shares, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission's Edgar Online system. In November alone, executives sold $1.3 million in company stock. Those selling include officers Thomas Donilon, Louis Hoyes, Ann Kapler, Peter Niculescu, Julie St. John, and others. In September and October, Mr. Howard exercised options and sold at least $1.1 million worth of stock. (Mr. Howard's sales were automatic and involve expiring options that would be worthless if left unsold, a company spokeswoman said.) On Oct. 6, Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive Franklin Raines and Mr. Howard told a congressional panel that their interpretation of hedge accounting (FAS 133) rules was correct and their regulator's interpretation was wrong. But last week the SEC backed the interpretation of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, a move that will lead to a $9 billion downward restatement of prior years' earnings.