Merrill 3Q loss widens on mortgage-related charges (AP)

AP - Merrill Lynch says it third-quarter loss widened as it took more than $12 billion in charges from the sale of mortgage-related investments and fallout from the continued credit crisis. Read more…

Democrats question Fannie, Freddie CEO pay (Reuters)

09.09.2008 20:40 Finance

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. Democratic senators on Tuesday called on regulators to revise severance packages for the outgoing chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, calling them lavish.

"We find it way out of line," Charles Schumer of New York and Jack Reed of Rhode Island said, questioning the multimillion-dollar packages at a time when U.S. taxpayers' dollars may have to foot the bill resulting from any financial losses caused by errors in management.

The U.S. Treasury Department over the weekend seized control of the two government-sponsored entities, which together back about half the country's $12 trillion in home mortgages.

The senators said in a letter to the regulator of the mortgage finance giants that he should use newly given authority when reviewing compensation for former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd and former Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron, who together stand to make more than $24 million.

"We urge you to quickly review the compensation packages," the senators said in a joint letter dated on Monday to James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The U.S. government takeover came as worries heightened over shrinking capital at the congressionally chartered companies, which had combined losses of nearly $14 billion the last four quarters.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said the final price tag for taxpayers cannot be estimated until the extent of the declines in the mortgage market is fully known.

(Reporting by John Poirier and Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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