Obama to Name North Carolina’s Smith as Fannie, Freddie Overseer
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President Barack Obama said he will nominate North Carolina Banking Commissioner Joseph A. Smith Jr. to become chief regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the administration prepares to overhaul the mortgage firms.
Obama announced his intention to name Smith as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in an e-mail release today. If confirmed by the Senate, the 61-year-old regulator will replace FHFA Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco at the helm of an agency that has overseen Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since they were seized by the federal government in 2008.