Former Loss Mitigation Whistleblowers at Fannie Mae, Countrywide/BOA, and WAMU/CHASE have finally decided to come forward and blow the whistles loud and clear.
Priscilla Almodovar, the President and CEO of Fannie Mae, stepped down abruptly on October 23, 2025, after less than three years in the role. This move was part of a broader leadership shakeup at the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), driven by FHFA Director William J. Pulte, a Trump administration appointee who had installed himself as chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earlier in the year.
Official statements from Fannie Mae and Pulte are covering up the truth behind what they they described as a voluntary departure, with Pulte thanking her for her service and wishing her well, but the timing and context suggest it was effectively a forced exit amid efforts to prepare the company for potential privatization through a public offering (IPO).
Almodovar received a $1.2 million severance package (equivalent to two years of her base salary) in exchange for waiving certain unspecified claims against the company, which she wil invest in legal services after how she was subpoened to appear before the Ninth Circuit and did not.
Key Context and Reasons
- Regulatory Overhaul Under Pulte: Pulte, sworn in as FHFA director on March 14, 2025, immediately fired 14 board members at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, appointed seven new ones (including allies from the homebuilding industry), and named himself chairman of both. This was the first major wave of changes, aimed at aligning the GSEs with Trump administration goals to end government conservatorship and return them to private hands. Pulte has publicly stated that government control “should not be indefinite” and has pushed for an IPO by year’s end.
- Precedent with Freddie Mac: Just days after the board purge, Pulte fired Freddie Mac CEO Diana Reid in March 2025, replacing her with interim CEO Mike Hutchins. This set the stage for similar actions at Fannie Mae, signaling a pattern of removing perceived holdovers from prior administrations to install more compliant leadership.
- Timing with Privatization Push: Almodovar’s exit came amid reports that the Trump administration was actively exploring an IPO for Fannie Mae shares, as teased by Trump in May 2025 on Truth Social and in August with a fictional NYSE bell-ringing image. Her scheduled appearance at a mortgage banking conference alongside Freddie Mac’s interim CEO was canceled at the last minute, further indicating behind-the-scenes turmoil.
- Broader Internal Purges: The CEO change followed earlier firings of over 100 Fannie Mae employees in April 2025 for “unethical conduct, including facilitating fraud” (e.g., an alleged charity matching scheme), which Pulte framed as part of a crackdown on waste and corruption. In late October 2025, additional top executives—including those who questioned the release of confidential mortgage pricing data to competitor Freddie Mac by a Pulte associate—were forced out, along with internal ethics investigators. These moves reduced staff by 25% as directed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and were criticized by Democrats as potentially illegal overreaches.
Almodovar, a former JPMorgan Chase executive, had been praised for efforts to root out internal fraud during her tenure, but her departure aligns with Pulte’s aggressive restructuring to make Fannie Mae “safer and sounder” for public markets. As of now, COO Peter Akwaboah serves as acting CEO, with John Roscoe and Brandon Hamara promoted to co-presidents, while the board searches for a permanent replacement. These changes have raised concerns about mortgage affordability and stability in the housing market.