Amid Layoffs, Fannie is Adding to Texas Servicing Staff.(News Analysis)

Byline: Paul Muolo

Washington-Last week the story du jour in Washington was the Obama administration's "maybe" plans to create a bad bank to buy billions worth of toxic mortgages (and other assets) to unclog the balance sheets of depositories everywhere.

But there was also the news that Fannie Mae would ask Treasury for $16 billion in new funding (so it could maintain a positive net worth) while laying off hundreds of workers.

The request for more taxpayer funds was disclosed by the GSE in a public filing. As for the layoffs, Fannie finally acknowledged them in a press release after a few members of the media - including a reporter from this newspaper - got wind that the GSE had laid off upwards of 900 workers since early December. As one company insider told Mortgage Servicing News, "There's been quiet job cuts going on for a while here." A former GSE worker added, "They didn't want to make any announcements until after the inauguration."

Fannie, which in the past has been known to hide its dirty laundry, wouldn't comment on just how many full-timers were let go, leaving it at a generic "hundreds." The company's PR department stressed that even though it was cutting heads it would wind up 2009 with just as many workers at year-end as it had in 2008.

The new hires would be mostly in Texas working on loan modifications. Those let go - which a source inside the company insisted was not 900 - include workers in communications, marketing, technology and what was left of its government affairs office.

In recent weeks, Freddie Mac has laid off workers, too, though it also declined to be specific on the head count. Marketing and ...