Fannie Mae’s chief multifamily economist is leaving the government-sponsored agency amid a major reshuffling.
Kim Betancourt, who oversaw multifamily economics and strategic research at Fannie Mae, is out, her biography already removed from Fannie’s website. She led a team of economists focusing on trends in the multifamily sector.
The moves come during a bigger shakeup at the agencies under new Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte. Three days after he was sworn in, Pulte appointed himself chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and removed 14 board members at the agencies.
Pulte said during Fannie’s first-quarter earnings call there were opportunities to “trim fat.”
HousingWire reported that Fannie has cut its ESG team. Fannie also recently fired over 100 workers for “unethical conduct” for their alleged involvement in a donation scam.
Fannie’s multifamily arm has also seen some upheaval. The Real Deal recently reported that two of Fannie Mae’s top multifamily executives, Rob Levin and Dan Dresser, are planning to leave the agency.
The news comes as the agency’s multifamily arm is dealing with exposure to mortgage fraud and suspect deals. Fannie, along with Freddie Mac, does not originate loans. Instead, Fannie buys loans from lenders and bundles them into mortgage-backed securities.
The agency set aside $752 million for credit losses in its multifamily lending business, in part because of fraud or suspected fraud at the end of 2024. Fannie had warned in an email in early 2024 that its exposure to eight sponsors who engaged in suspect deals surpassed $700 million.
Some of those sponsors have been charged with fraud by the Department of Justice, including Boruch Drillman and Moshe Silber.
In response, Fannie has blacklisted a number of companies and individuals.
Betancourt’s departure appears to be unrelated to the broader investigation into mortgage fraud and more to do with Pulte’s ongoing shakeup at the agency.
Betancourt had worked at Fannie for over 20 years, according to her LinkedIn. Prior to working at Fannie she was a senior vice president at GMAC Institutional Advisors and managed a predecessor to Morningstar Ratings’ senior analytical research team. Betancourt also previously worked in the structured finance department of Standard & Poor’s.
Fannie Mae declined to comment. Betancourt did not return a request to comment.
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