The chief financial officer of Freddie Mac has died in an apparent suicide as the huge American mortgage lender and guarantor remains under investigation over accounting and disclosure methods. David Kellermann is thought to have been found dead at his suburban home in Washington by his wife, who told local media that he had committed suicide. Police said only that the death was under active investigation. Mr Kellermann, 41, was appointed acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac when the lender was taken under US Government control last September. He had spent 16 years with the company, previously working as corporate controller and principal accounting officer. He was responsible for its financial controls, reporting and compliance with regulations on audits and corporate governance. Freddie Mac disclosed last month that it was being investigated by the US Attorney's Office in Virginia and had been subpoenaed for documents related to accounting, disclosure and corporate governance back to September last year. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also conducting an investigation, with which Freddie Mac said it was co-operating. The SEC has interviewed staff of Freddie Mac. Mr Kellermann's name has not been connected publicly with either inquiry. John Koskinen, the interim chief executive of Freddie Mac, described Mr Kellermann yesterday as a “man of great talents”, with an extraordinary work ethic, integrity and quick wit. “We mourn his passing,” he said. A spokesman for Freddie Mac said that the lender “knows of no connection between this personal tragedy and the ongoing regulatory inquiries”. Last month Mr Kellermann received a controversial $850,000 retention bonus - one of 92 payments made by Freddie Mac of $100,000 or more to senior staff in return for staying with the lender while it dug its way out of financial trouble. The difficulty of the roles of senior executives of Freddie Mac was underscored in March when David Moffett, the lender's government-appointed chief executive, resigned after five months in the job to return to the private sector. The retention payments angered politicians, already furious about a $165 million bonus handout by AIG, the insurer that owes US taxpayers $80 billion. Congressmen pointed to the $108 billion loss made by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Freddie's mortgage finance peer, last year. Freddie and Fannie were taken into government control in September after running up the loss on bad mortgages. ，英语论文范文，英语论文范文 |
