Generous pay for new Freddie Mac CFO

There was quite a bit going on the first week of October, and this slipped by. If you've seen it already, fine. If not, Appraiser Active offers the story without comment. Of course, your comments are encouraged.

ALL BUSINESS: Generous pay for new Freddie Mac CFO

The pay package given to Freddie Mac's new chief financial officer should have sent a message from Washington to corporate America about how executive compensation standards must change. Instead, it did just the opposite.

The government-controlled mortgage finance company is giving CFO Ross Kari compensation worth as much as $5.5 million. That includes an almost $2 million cash signing bonus and a generous salary that could top $2.3 million.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac, approved the pay package. A spokeswoman pointed to a statement that justified the agency's approval of the pay, which was done in part because the amount was comparable to what others in the financial services industry make.

Hmmm--

The McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac has been without a permanent CFO for more than a year, when its two top executives stepped down as part of the government takeover in early September 2008. Acting CFO David Kellermann committed suicide in April.

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Here is another quick take - New Freddie Mac CFO hits the compensation jackpot