The government-sponsored company, which finances one of every five home loans in the United States, has been remaking itself as it recovers from a $6.3 billion accounting scandal that erupted in September 2004, bringing the ouster of top company executives. Washington-based Fannie Mae paid a record $400 million civil fine in a settlement with federal regulators, who imposed restraints on its operations and debt load.

Pickett was a member of the board's audit committee. In a statement Friday, Fannie Mae Chairman Stephen Ashley said Pickett's mortgage industry experience "brought enormous value to Fannie Mae for over a decade."

Last month, former AOL executive Stephen Swad became the company's new chief financial officer, replacing Robert Blakely.

Fannie Mae and its smaller sibling Freddie Mac were created by Congress to make home ownership affordable for low- and middle-income people. The companies pump money into the $10 trillion home-loan market by buying blocks of mortgages from lenders and then packaging them into securities for sale on Wall Street.

Fannie Mae: http://www.fanniemae.com

Freddie Mac: http://www.freddiemac.com