FLASHBACK: Four Years Ago Today, Senator Obama Called Lucrative Salaries To Executive Bonuses At Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac “Unacceptable,” Saying “They Were Making Money On The Up-Side, They Should Take A Hit On The Down-Side.” OBAMA: “Now, what would I do? As president, I don’t think we can allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to just collapse. I’d like to be able to punish them for their bad decisions, but the problem is they’re too central right now to how the housing market works. So we’re going to have to provide them with some support. And I was supportive of giving the administration some flexibility — the authority to infuse more capital into those two entities or potentially to have a government takeover of those two entities. I think whatever we do with them — here’s my bottom line — investors who were making a whole lot of money over the last decade, they shouldn’t be protected. If their stock tanks, that’s not my problem. They were making money on the up-side, they should take a hit on the down-side. CEOs? I have no sympathy for them. So I don’t want them still taking out bonuses. The heads of these two companies took out $30 million in salaries and bonuses last year at a time when they’re losing money and they’re expecting taxpayers to bail them out. That’s unacceptable.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Davenport, IA, 8/25/08)

YET UNDER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC EXECUTIVES CONTINUED TO MAKE EXECUTIVE BONUSES ON THE UP-SIDE

Nearly $100 Million Of Fannie And Freddie’s Bailout Went To “Lucrative Pay Packages For Top Executives.” “Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received the biggest federal bailout of the financial crisis. And nearly $100 million of those tax dollars went to lucrative pay packages for top executives, filings show.” (Chris Isidore, “Fannie, Freddie Execs Score $100 Million Payday,” CNN Money, 11/15/11)

• In 2009 And 2010, Fannie’s Top Five Executives Received $33.3 Million And Freddie’s Received $28.1 Million. “The top five executives at Fannie Mae received $33.3 million in 2009 and 2010, while the top five at Freddie Mac received $28.1 million. And each company has set pay targets of as much as $17 million for its top managers for 2011.”  (Chris Isidore, “Fannie, Freddie Execs Score $100 Million Payday,” CNN Money, 11/15/11)

• Freddie Mac CEO Ed Haldeman Received A $2.3 Million Bonus On Top Of His $900,000 Salary. “Securities and Exchange Commission documents show that Ed Haldeman, who announced last week that he is stepping down as Freddie Mac’s CEO, received a base salary of $900,000 last year yet took home an additional $2.3 million in bonus pay.”  (Josh Boak and Joseph Williams, “Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Executives Get Big Housing Bonuses,” Politico, 10/31/11)

• Fannie And Freddie Executives Are Awarded Over $12 Million In Bonuses To Ten Executives For Meeting “Modest Performance Targets.” “The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator for Fannie and Freddie, approved $12.79 million in bonus pay after 10 executives from the two government-sponsored corporations last year met modest performance targets tied to modifying mortgages in jeopardy of foreclosure.” (Josh Boak and Joseph Williams, “Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Executives Get Big Housing Bonuses,” Politico, 10/31/11)

THE BONUSES COME AFTER FANNIE AND FREDDIE HAVE RECEIVED NEARLY $170 BILLION IN TAXPAYER AID

The Bonuses Come After Fannie And Freddie Have Received Nearly $170 Billion In Taxpayer Aid. “The executives got the bonuses about two years after the federally backed mortgage giants received nearly $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts — and despite pledges by FHFA, the office tasked with keeping them solvent, that it would adjust the level of CEO-level pay after critics slammed huge compensation packages paid out to former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines and others.” (Josh Boak and Joseph Williams, “Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Executives Get Big Housing Bonuses,” Politico, 10/31/11)

AND TAXPAYERS HAVE SPENT OVER $160 MILLION TO DEFEND FANNIE AND FREDDIE EXECUTIVES FROM FRAUD CHARGES

Taxpayers Have Paid More Than $160 Million To Defend Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Executives From Fraud Charges Since The Federal Government Took Over The Companies. “Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud.” (Gretchen Morgenson, “Mortgage Giants Leave Legal Bills To The Taxpayers,” The New York Times, 1/24/11)

The Vast Majority Of The Money Has Been Spent To Defend Fannie Mae Officials From Suits Originating Before The Subprime Crisis. “The bulk of those expenditures — $132 million — went to defend Fannie Mae and its officials in various securities suits and government investigations into accounting irregularities that occurred years before the subprime lending crisis erupted.” (Gretchen Morgenson, “Mortgage Giants Leave Legal Bills To The Taxpayers,” The New York Times, 1/24/11)