A suicide at Freddie Mac
With the death of Freddie CFO David Kellermann, has outrage over financial executives gone too far?
Speculating on why Freddie Mac acting CFO David Kellermann killed himself is “completely morbid,” said Bess Levin in Dealbreaker. Kellermann, 41, worked long, stressful hours. But he’d also hired bodyguards after controversy erupted over retention bonuses at the ailing, publicly supported firm—he was set to get $850,000. Could “public outrage over his bonus have played a part” in his death?
Bonus outrage couldn’t have helped things, said Barbara Kiviat in Time. But morale at both Freddie and Fannie Mae—already the subjects of “fairly constant vilification” by politicians and the media—was “horrible” before that. The predictable exodus of talent will just make things worse, and at a time when we’re demanding ever more of the two agencies.
Five years ago, before “the entire blame for the financial crisis” was laid at Freddie and Fannie’s feet, said Floyd Norris in The New York Times, Kellermann’s suicide would barely have made the local news. Now, his family has to suffer “innuendos” that his death is tied to investigations of wrongdoing at the agencies. He was a “troubled person”—give it a rest.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
October 9 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include common political ground over the Epstein files, a new pledge for ICE agents, Bad Bunny, and more
-
Five policies from the Tory conference
In Depth Party leader Kemi Badenoch has laid out the Conservative plan for a potential future government
-
A House of Dynamite: a ‘nail-biting’ nuclear-strike thriller
The Week Recommends ‘Virtuoso talent’ Kathryn Bigelow directs a ‘fast-paced’ and ‘tense’ ‘symphony of dread’