--James Mackey has been CFO of Ally since 2011
--Mr. Mackey will succeed Ross Kari at Freddie Mac
--Freddie Mac announced Mr. Kari's retirement plans last
year
(Updates with details about Freddie Mac and other information
throughout.)
By Andrew R. Johnson
Freddie Mac (FMCC) has named Ally Financial Inc. executive James
Mackey its chief financial officer, replacing outgoing CFO Ross
Kari.
Mr. Mackey, 46, will assume the CFO role in November, around the
same time he plans to leave Ally, where he currently holds the CFO
position, Freddie Mac said Monday.
Ally earlier on Monday announced that Mr. Mackey was leaving the
Detroit-based company for another career opportunity. Mr. Mackey,
who has been CFO of Ally since June 2011, joined the
government-owned auto lender in 2009. He previously was an
executive with Bank of America Corp. (BAC).
Freddie Mac in December announced Mr. Kari, who joined the
company in 2009, planned to retire in second half of 2013. Both it
and sister company Fannie Mae (FNMA) have seen a high rate of
executive turnover in recent years as the government-supported
mortgage-finance firms have worked to get on more stable footing
after suffering billions of dollars of losses as a result of the
housing crisis, forcing the government to take them over in
2008.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae buy mortgages that meet specific
criteria from lenders and provide the lenders with a guarantee
against future losses. The companies' fortunes have risen over the
last year thanks to increasing home prices.
Donald Layton, chief executive of Freddie Mac, said in a
statement Monday that Mr. Mackey's experience will be a boon to the
company during a "crucial time" for the firm.
As a result of Mr. Mackey's future departure from Ally, the auto
lender said Monday that it named its corporate treasurer
Christopher Halmy to the CFO position.
Mr. Halmy will assume the CFO role on Nov. 8, the same day Mr.
Mackey is set to leave, Ally said.
Mr. Halmy has been corporate treasurer since June 2011 and
joined Ally in 2009. Before that, he held several treasury and
finance positions at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan
Chase & Co. (JPM) and other firms.
In the CFO role, Mr. Halmy will report to Jeffrey Brown, senior
executive vice president of finance and corporate planning for
Ally. Bradley Brown, currently the structured funding executive for
Ally, will become corporate treasurer.
The management announcement comes as Ally Chief Executive
Michael Carpenter is preparing the company for a possible initial
public offering that could allow the U.S. Treasury Department to
sell its majority stake in Ally.
Ally, the former in-house financing arm of General Motors Co.
(GM), is 74% owned by the U.S. government after receiving a $17.2
billion bailout during the financial crisis.
Ally's exposure to mortgage liabilities has prevented the
company from moving forward on efforts to get out from government
ownership, though Ally has taken several steps in the last two
years to try to eliminate those hurdles.
Its subprime mortgage subsidiary, Residential Capital LLC, filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2012, a move intended to help Ally
separate itself from billions of dollars of liabilities tied to
mortgage bonds. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in June approved a $2.1
billion settlement Ally reached with ResCap and the subsidiary's
creditors that largely shields Ally from such liabilities.
The company also announced a plan in August to raise $1 billion
by selling common stock to about 12 investors in a bid to raise its
capital levels. In conjunction with the transaction, Ally is
seeking the Federal Reserve's approval to purchase about $5.9
billion of preferred shares held by Treasury, which would reduce
the government's ownership in the company to about 65%.
Following those moves, an IPO that would allow Treasury to sell
its remaining stake could be possible, Mr. Carpenter has said.
Write to Andrew R. Johnson at andrew.r.johnson@dowjones.com
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