The Fannie Mae Foundation has announced that it is cutting its budget by more than a fifth, closing offices in Atlanta and Chicago, and laying off a dozen employees.

While the foundation's board voted to reduce the foundation's operating budget for the year from roughly $92 million to $72 million, foundation president and CEO Stacey D. Stewart confirmed that the foundation will fulfill its existing grant and program funding agreements around the country and emphasized that the foundation would maintain its level of grantmaking in the Washington, D.C., area. "The measures announced today will help us to prudently manage our assets while we maintain our role as a strong community partner and advocate for affordable homes," said Stewart in a press release.

The board also voted to reduce the foundation's staff from eighty-seven to seventy-five employees. In addition, an independent consultant will review compensation levels for the foundation's top executives based on its reduced operations, which could result in cuts in compensation and benefits of up to 20 percent for some of those executives.

The reductions were attributed to the ongoing accounting questions dogging federally chartered mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae, a controversy that has resulted in a drop in the company's stock price, forced the resignation of top executives, and erased billions of dollars of previously reported profit. "They're having to cut costs, and we have to cut costs," foundation spokeswoman Beverly Barnes told the Washington Post.