The pay awarded to the top 70 executives at government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are to be limited to $500,000 per year and their annual bonuses eliminated amid pressure from Congress to stop the big payouts, the Associated Press reports.
Critics denounced the pay received by executive at the government-controlled companies this fall after it was revealed that 12 executives got $35.4 million in salary and bonuses in 2009 and 2010, the report said. Fannie's chief executive, Michael J. Williams, received about $9.3 million for the two years, while Freddie's chief executive, Edward Haldeman Jr., was paid $7.8 million, according to the AP.
The pay structure will come into effect after Haldeman and Williams, who will each receive total salaries of $5.4 million in 2012, leave the company. Both have said they will step down within the next year.
The U.S. government stepped in to take control of Fannie and Freddie three years ago after they nearly collapsed because of large losses on risky mortgages. The move to save the two companies cost U.S. taxpayers about $170 billion -- the most expensive bailout of the 2008 financial crisis, the AP said.
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