Brickell’s name withdrawn as candidate to head Ofheo

Mark Brickell, a derivatives expert who was set to become the head of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (Ofheo), has withdrawn his name from consideration for the post. Brickell formally requested President George Bush withdraw his name from the candidacy in a letter to the White House this week.

Senator Shelby said in a statement the move was in response to legislation being planned by the Senate Banking Committee that would make the post redundant. “I can certainly understand why Brickell would choose to withdraw his name from consideration to head an agency that will likely be abolished,” he added.

Brickell’s experience in derivatives includes 25 years in the swaps group at JP Morgan Chase. He also served as the chairman of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

The news coincides with the US' largest mortgage agency, Fannie Mae, revealing its exposure to derivatives contracts more than doubled in 2003, to hit $7.1 billion on December 31.