Freddie Mac has lured Anthony S. “Buddy” Piszel away from Health Net Inc. to become the government-sponsored mortgage repurchaser’s chief financial officer.
Piszel, 51, has been named executive vice president and CFO effective Nov. 13. He will report directly to Freddie Mac president and chief operating officer Eugene M. McQuade.
Piszel has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Health Net, a managed health care company, since August 2004. The former auditor and Prudential Financial Inc. executive was responsible for all of Health Net’s finances, including accounting, risk management and financial planning. He holds a master’s of business administration in accounting from Golden Gate University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are still working to put their books in order in the wake of management and accounting scandals that led both companies to fire top executives and restate earnings by a combined $16 billion. All told, the companies have paid more than $500 million in fines.
“Buddy Piszel brings deep financial and accounting experience to Freddie Mac,” McQuade said in a press release. “His broad experience, particularly in financial remediation, will be a tremendous asset to Freddie Mac as we continue our ongoing efforts to enhance our internal financial reporting infrastructure and return to timely, GAAP-compliant (generally accepted accounting principals) financial reporting.”
Although Fannie and Freddie say the Justice Department will not file criminal charges against the companies, former executives could still face penalties.
In June, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight informed Congress that it continues to pursue administrative charges against former Freddie Mac CFO Vaughn Clarke and former CEO Leland Brendsel.
Last month, OFHEO Director James Lockhart said Fannie Mae’s former CEO, Franklin Raines, and former CFO Timothy Howard are likely to be named in a civil lawsuit.
