Freddie Mac chief executive gets US$19.8 million in 2007

By J.W. Elphinstone And Ellen Simon, The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Richard Syron pocketed nearly US$19.8 million in compensation last year, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday, even though the mortgage company's stock lost half its value in 2007.

If Syron stays at the helm of Freddie Mac through the end of next year, he will receive nearly $20 million in stock awards if the board says he has met certain goals. Of that, he is guaranteed to get $8.8 million in stock grants this year regardless of performance.

For 2007, Syron received a $1.2-million salary, a $3.45-million bonus, including $1.25 million to remain at the company, and $771,585 in other compensation. He also received stock and options valued by the company at $14.3 million at the time they were awarded.

The company last year picked up the tab for Syron's financial planning expenses, car and driver for commuting, home security system, business-related dining and travel costs for his wife and $100,000 in legal fees from negotiating his employment contract.

Syron also received $898,444 from dividends on restricted stock and options he holds.

If Syron resigns or is fired with cause, he will owe the company $1.25 million. But if he is fired without cause, he will pocket $19.1 million.

The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year and above-market returns on deferred compensation. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits and sometimes differ from the totals released by the companies.

The news of Syron's pay package comes after the government pledged on Sunday to help provide larger credit lines for Freddie and its sister company Fannie Mae. The U.S. Treasury Department will ask Congress to allow it to buy equity stakes in the two if necessary.

The U.S. Federal Reserve also has stepped in and said it would open a special lending option to the pair.

The companies hold or guarantee $5.3 trillion of mortgage debt, about half the outstanding mortgages in the U.S. Experts agree the sustainability of Freddie and Fannie is key to helping prevent the already beleaguered real estate market from getting worse.

Shares of Freddie rose 85 cents, or 10 per cent, to close at $9.18 on Friday. Fannie's stock rose $2.47, or about 23 per cent, to $13.40.