Regulator Says Fannie Mae Execs May Need to Go By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fannie Mae's regulator told Congress on Wednesday his office was considering seeking management changes at the mortgage finance company after finding pervasive accounting irregularities. Fannie Mae executives, at the same congressional hearing, denied the regulator's allegations they used improper accounting to mask profit fluctuations. Responding to questions, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Director Armando Falcon told a House of Representatives Financial Services panel the regulator was "currently considering" if top Fannie Mae management changes are needed. "We're having discussions with the board about the issue of management accountability and confidence in current management," Falcon said. The panel's chairman, Rep. Richard Baker, said OFHEO's accusations of accounting manipulation underlined the need for changes at the top at Fannie Mae. "The culture of mismanagement in this report must be eliminated and assurances gained that the highest standards of conduct will be consistently practiced," Baker told the hearing. "Never did I question whether the GSEs were professionally managed. Now I do." Baker, a Louisiana Republican, said Fannie Mae threatened to sue him if he disclosed information about its executive compensation. At the same time, Democrats on the committee urged caution, saying the Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to offer an opinion and suggesting some of the criticism leveled at Fannie Mae may be motivated by political opposition to the company's role in housing markets. "We need to let this process work itself out. We should also refrain from hyping these initial findings in an effort to achieve some short-term political gains," said Pennsylvania Rep. Paul Kanjorski, the top Democrat on the panel For their part, Fannie Mae executives said they and their auditors believed they were properly applying complex accounting standards that can be interpreted differently. "We intended to do the right thing and we took care to do the right thing," Fannie Mae Chief Executive Franklin Raines said in prepared testimony.     Continued ... Quelle "Regulator Says Fannie Mae Execs May Need to Go" : reuters.com Main page for "Regulator Says Fannie Mae Execs May Need to Go"