New Acting Director Takes Reins at OFHEO

James B. Lockhart III has assumed his duties as the new acting director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, where he will be responsible for supervising Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Mr. Lockhart was the second-ranking executive at the Social Security Administration when President Bush announced his nomination to a five-year term as the new GSE regulator and appointed him acting director. He replaces Stephen Blumenthal, who has served as the acting director since former OFHEO Director Armando Falcon resigned in May 2005. As the acting director, Mr. Lockhart will oversee the final drafting of a long-awaited report on OFHEO's investigation into Fannie Mae's $10.8 billion accounting scandal. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., called Mr. Lockhart's nomination a "positive step" and pledged to hold a confirmation hearing "as expeditiously as possible." Mr. Lockhart was co-founder and managing director of NetRisk, a risk management software firm, before joining the SSA. During his career, he was a senior vice president at National Re (1996) and a managing director at Smith Barney (1993-1995).