Syron: 'Elevate' Freddie's Housing Mission

Freddie Mac became too complacent and resistant to change under its previous leadership, according to its new top executive, who says he wants to make a clean break and "elevate" the enterprise's commitment to its housing mission and expanding homeownership.Freddie's chairman and chief executive Richard Syron said the mortgage giant has viewed its affordable housing goals as a regulatory requirement, instead of a core part of its mission as a government-sponsored enterprise. "We must rectify this by focusing on housing and on our special obligation as a GSE, and by taking a long-term view that achieving these obligations is integral to our financial success," he said in a speech at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas. A former Federal Reserve Bank president, Mr. Syron took over the top job at Freddie Mac in January, replacing former chairman and chief executive Leland Brendsel, who was ousted last summer as a result of a $5 billion accounting scandal. Freddie is still restating its earnings, which Mr. Syron called an "embarrassment." But he said the company is making real progress to correct the situation and "rebuild our credibility."