Freddie Mac CFO to resign at the end of June

Freddie Mac’s chief financial officer, Christian Lown, notified the company of his intention to resign at the end of this month.

The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) will “begin the process of identifying a successor,” Freddie Mac said in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday. Lown’s resignation, was was announced on June 5, takes effect June 28.

A spokesperson for Freddie Mac said the enterprise will release updates as they become available but did not provide further details, including the reason for the resignation.

Lown joined the GSE in June 2020 amid plans for the enterprise to exit conservatorship, which ended up not happening.

Previously, Lown was the chief financial officer of Navient Corp., a student loan servicer he joined in 2003, and was a managing director for the financial institutions group at Morgan Stanley. 

When Lown joined Freddie Mac, then-CEO David Brickman said in a statement that his background in the debt and equity capital markets, as well as mergers and acquisitions, would be “invaluable” in preparing the enterprise to end the conservatorship. 

At that point, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) had moved in that direction by issuing a rule that allowed allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to build capital.  

Freddie Mac has faced some recent leadership changes. Its CEO, Michael DeVito, retired in the first quarter of 2024, less than three years into the job. 

In March, Freddie Mac announced that its president, Michael Hutchins — a 30-year veteran of the mortgage industry who joined the GSE in 2013 — had been appointed as interim CEO.

Meanwhile, the enterprise continues its search for a permanent CEO. 

Freddie Mac reported a full-year profit of $10.5 billion in 2023, a 13% year-over-year increase. The enterprise financed 955,000 mortgages last year, with 56% of eligible loans deemed affordable to low- and moderate-income families.