Freddie Mac CEO search taking longer than expected

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Richard Syron on Wednesday said the company's search for a new CEO is taking longer than expected.

The company has agreed to split the roles of CEO and chairman, both held by Syron, under a regulatory agreement forged after an accounting scandal earlier this decade. Completing the split would help lower capital mandates, Freddie Mac said in May.

The board has "seen a number of very attractive candidates, but candidly, it's taking longer than we had hoped," Syron said on a conference call. "I am not going to stand in the way, in any form, of something that benefits the company and our shareholders," he added.

Freddie Mac earlier on Wednesday posted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss and set plans to slash its common stock dividend to preserve capital.

(Reporting by Al Yoon; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)