Raines: GSE Charter Brings 'Pluses & Minuses'

Fannie Mae's charter as a government-sponsored enterprise is "a balancing of pluses and minuses," according to Franklin D. Raines, the GSE's chairman and chief executive officer.Mr. Raines made the comment in response to a question at the UBS Warburg Global Financial Services Conference in New York, asking whether Fannie Mae would ever consider giving up its GSE status. If the minuses began to outweigh the pluses, he would have "a fiduciary duty" to the company's stockholders to do something about that, Mr. Raines said. "The burdens on us are not so overwhelming that it makes it impossible to raise private capital," he continued. Later, at the breakout session, he was asked about Fannie Mae's battles with opposition groups in Washington. Mr. Raines said these groups have hired lobbyists "who are being paid to stir the pot," but that they are not making any progress. FM Watch is losing supporters, he continued, but he stopped short of declaring victory over the group. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.