Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage-financing corporation, on Friday announced that it has named James D. Hughes senior vice president and chief information officer effective September 25.
Hughes was previously CIO of National City, a Cleveland-based bank with 34,000 employees and 1,200 retail-banking branches in seven states. Hughes, 48, will report to Joseph Smialowski, Freddie Mac’s executive vice president for operations and technology.
Before joining National City in 1997, Hughes worked for Andersen Consulting, USF&G, Seer Technologies and Credit Suisse First Boston. Hughes received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Maryland and a master’s in systems from the University of Lancaster in the U.K.
In a statement, Smialowski said: “Jim brings Freddie Mac outstanding experience, especially in the area of customer-focused technology, and a record of significant accomplishments. His extensive background will be invaluable as we continue to refine and deploy the systems that strengthen our ability to efficiently meet our mission to bring liquidity, stability and affordability to America’s lenders and home borrowers.”
Freddie Mac, like its competitor Fannie Mae, are regulated by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, an agency of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have been investigated for unorthodox accounting practices.
Fannie Mae in July announced that CIO Julie St. John will leave at the end of the year. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it said St. John “has been taking a lead role in connection with the company’s ongoing restructuring of its enterprise systems and operations division.” According to the company, she agreed to defer her departure date until Dec. 31 (see Fannie Mae’s CIO Set to Leave). Fannie Mae has not announced a replacement for St. John.
