The mortgage giant steps closer to a big capital-raising move that could help its CEO keep his healthy paycheck.
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Freddie Mac chief Richard Syron wants to avoid a government bailout for many reasons. A filing the struggling mortgage giant made Friday lists over 10 million of them.
Syron is hardly the only executive making out at Freddie. Six other executives or former executives made at least $2 million last year, the filing shows: Finance chief Anthony Piszel, business chief Patricia Cook, technology exec Michael Perlman, multifamily sourcing exec Michael May, former operating chief Eugene McQuade and ex-technology officer Joseph Smialowski.
Freddie spokeswoman Sharon McHale says the company's board sets pay with the help of consultants who review the compensation at similar financial companies.
"The board looks at a number of factors," she says, listing some of the criteria - including market share gains and improved financial disclosure - that are laid out in the filing.
A tougher watchdog could get involved with the companies' executive pay practices. Early last year, Sen. Chuck Hagel questioned Fannie chief Daniel Mudd's $14 million paycheck for 2006, noting that Fannie at the time was still struggling to bring its books up to date. In May, regulators said Fannie had "substantially completed its remediation."
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http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/18/news/newsmakers/freddie_syron.fortune/?postversion=200807181