Fannie Mae Sets Target Date for Restatement

Fannie Mae said yesterday that it expects to complete a restatement of billions of dollars in previously reported earnings by the second half of 2006, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Yesterday's filing was the first time the District-based mortgage finance company offered a timeline for the restatement, which the SEC ordered last year, after determining that Fannie Mae executives violated accounting rules. The accounting problems led to the ouster of top managers, including chairman and chief executive Franklin D. Raines, and investigations by the SEC and the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia.

Fannie Mae previously estimated that it may have to restate up to $10.8 billion in earnings.

The company plans to hire 1,500 consultants by the end of the year to help complete the restatement, chief executive Daniel H. Mudd said in a written statement. Fannie Mae expects more than 30 percent of employees to spend more than half their time on the restatement, he said.

Mudd scheduled a conference call with investors for this morning to discuss the filing.

The New York Stock Exchange could begin the process of delisting Fannie Mae's stock if the company does not file an annual report by Dec. 15, the company said in its SEC filing. Under NYSE rules, the exchange can extend the listing for three months even if the company doesn't release its report by the December deadline.

Fannie Mae and NYSE officials said they are in regular discussions about the progress of the company's restatement.