Freddie Mac Reviews

Pros

- the people (most are awesome to work with)
- the mission

Cons

- uncertain future
- too many organizational changes

Advice to Senior Management

It is important to retain people with institutional knowledge who may understand how processes and systems got to where they are. and to be very careful when making cuts to ensure a key skill is not being eliminated. Need to be careful when making staffing reductions to ensure that there is a good understanding of all responsibilities that need to be redistributed.

Pros

Experienced and knowledgeable people, who are leaving

Cons

Improper but politically-correct government intervention

Pros

Very nice cafetaria, many choice of dishes and pretty cheap.
Nice underground parking and close to mall, close to toll road etc

Cons

slow promottions, slow salary increase, teleworking means rocket science to freddie
all older generation at freddie sit there as if it their own company

Advice to Senior Management

get frsh blood, offer good salaries and titles, do NOT revert titles backwards, that idiotic MBC (market based compensation) created by some moron

Pros

Great place to work. Nice employees. The people (every day employees) make the company. There are many employees who have been there 15+ years.

Cons

During these economic times, things are tighter but people are still great. I think there are great disparities between different departments as to the experiences that people might share.

Advice to Senior Management

I think the management is working in the right direction this time. I think in years past they had the wrong leaders, but are doing it correctly now.

Pros

Good exposure to senior management, nice people

Cons

Hard to get promoted due to the regulator

Advice to Senior Management

Listen more to the analysts because they have good insights

Pros

Great benefits, lots of opportunities

Cons

Officially, the White House and Congress say they will "wind down" Freddie Mac (and Fannie Mae) in 5 to 7 years. Company management tries to keep morale up, but even upper management is racing for the door one by one. Plus,the company is in conservatorship, so management can not do anything without prior approval from the regulator, FHFA. Even the weekly phone messages from the CEO to employees are screened in advance by FHFA. The company is required by the government to make loan modifications that hurt profitability and is forbidden by the government to take steps to raise revenues.

Advice to Senior Management

Go private and throw off FHFA oversight by any means possible, even if that means spinning off much of the company. The retained portfolio and government backstop will be taken away eventually anyway. Freddie Mac can not survive as a GSE anymore because it has lost all of its old friends on Capitol Hill.

Pros

Benefits and Flexibility. Average Salary

Cons

no room for growth... lots of burearcy and controls to get things done

Pros

** Pertains only to Legal Department **
Great work-life balance
Nice co-workers
interesting work
sophisticated work

Cons

Two words: Government Conservatorship
uncertain future

Advice to Senior Management

Do what you can to keep your talented people.

Pros

A lot of resources that you have access to

Cons

The organization can seem very bureaucratic

Pros

There aren't many pros in working at FM anymore. The reputation of the company leaves a black mark on your resume. The company does its best to maintain and protect the turmoil internally but it leaks out and becomes fodder at networking events. The free garage parking is great!

Cons

It is full of "leadership" VP level and above, and some Directors, that are not qualified, have limited experience, and are promoted into the role without any clear vision or internal knowledge on how to run an area. They become reactive to the last comment made by their boss and are influenced by the "politics" of the organization. In turn, they lose sight of the good work that is being done by a few. This results in loss of vision, nasty working relationships and unproductive time spent.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop bringing in your friends from the last place you were let go. Roll your sleeves up and get to know exactly what is being done before making random decisions on projects and reorganizing areas so your friends have something to do. The answers are with the people that do the work, not the ones that sit in the offices. There are way to many unqualified vice presidents who were promoted from director because there was an empty spot above them. This is old school and isn't necessary.