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GreenPoint Mortgage, the latest casualty of the mortgage meltdown, was once overseen by a director of Freddie Mac, the giant public company chartered by Congress to bolster home lending.

Thomas S. Johnson was elected to Freddie Mac’s board in 2004 when he was CEO of GreenPoint Financial, then parent of GreenPoint Mortgage. That year, GreenPoint Financial was acquired by North Fork Bancorp for $6.3 billion. Capital One acquired North Fork last year for $13.2 billion.

After the markets closed Monday, Capital One said it would shut down GreenPoint Mortgage, eliminating 1,900 jobs by the end of the year.

Johnson became CEO of Greenpoint in 1993. Before that he was president of Chemical Banking Corporation and Manufacturers Hanover. In 2003, the year before he became a Freddie Mac director, GreenPoint sold $3.3 billion worth of mortgages to Freddie Mac, according to the press release about his appointment.

The company specialized in making loans to those with slightly better credit than subprime borrowers – often referred to as the Alt-A market – but the results were the same: a rise in defaults and foreclosures that has rocked the mortgage industry.

Some in Congress think Freddie Mac should be allowed to buy larger mortgages and more of them from firms like GreenPoint to inject liquidity into the market.

On the web
Capital One to Close Mortgage Unit – New York Times
Capital One Closes GreenPoint Mortgage, Idling 1,900 – Bloomberg

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In his toy recall crisis, Mattel CEO Robert Eckert has some experts on his board of directors who know about the importance of consumer trust.

Mattel, the largest toy company in the world, announced the biggest recall in its history this week. The toys were made in China.

Mattel Director Craig Sullivan is the former CEO of Clorox and a director of Kimberly-Clark and Goodyear Tire & Rubber, all major consumer products companies.

Christopher Sinclair is a former Pepsi exec and a director of Footlocker, a retailer.

Ronald Sargent is the CEO of office products retailer Staples and a director of grocery giant Kroger. Tully Friedman is a director of Clorox.

Eckert, who is a director of McDonald’s, will need that consumer expertise as Mattel tries to calm fears as the holiday shopping season approaches. Company executives said more recalls are possible.

On the web
Mattel Recalls 19 Million Toys Sent From China – Washington Post

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Mitt Romney’s years at Bain & Company and Bain Capital are proving useful beyond the millions he is able to pour from his personal fortune into his presidential campaign.

Two of his finance co-chairs – Meg Whitman of eBay and David Brandon of Domino’s Pizza – have Bain ties.

The Washington Post noted yesterday that the campaign had attracted at least $196,000 in donations from Bain employees.

Romney personally loaned nearly $9 million to the campaign during the first six months of 2007.

On the web
Romney’s Old Ties To Firm Pay Off – Washington Post

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