Dr. Mark Palim is Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Fannie Mae, responsible for forecasts and analyses of the economy and the housing and mortgage markets. His team has won the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy and, on two occasions, the NABE Outlook Award. Mark also oversees strategic research regarding the potential impact of external factors on the housing industry, including the first work at the company on climate change. He is a key spokesperson on economic trends and a frequent speaker at national mortgage finance and housing industry events.
Prior to working at Fannie Mae, Mark was an economic consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and LECG. His practice focused on applying economic and financial theory to a variety of business disputes and policy questions. He worked as a consulting and testifying expert in antitrust cases and disputes in the financial services industry. In addition, Mark led a team of 75 adjudicators charged with valuing claims for the Department of Justice and the Special Master administering the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
Mark was first involved with economic forecasting and mortgage securities in 1988 when he was a portfolio manager and reported to the Chief Economist at Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company. Subsequently, he continued his work on macroeconomic and policy issues as a staff economist for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU).
Currently, Mark serves on Habitat for Humanity's Affordable Housing and Homeownership Research Advisory Council as well as the Industry Advisory Board of Research Institute for Housing America. From 2019 to 2022 Mark served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics.
In addition to his academic training, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder (CFA).
Mark's research has been published in peer reviewed economic journals and professional handbooks.
Mark has a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University and a B.A. in international studies from the Johns Hopkins University.
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