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Ginnie Mae announced that issuance of its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) totaled $63.81 billion in April, an all-time record, providing financing for more than 246,000 homeowners and renters.
A breakdown of April issuance includes $61.04 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS and $2.78 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS, which includes $2.48 billion of loans for multifamily housing.
Ginnie Mae's total outstanding principal balance of $2.149 trillion is an increase from $2.062 trillion in April 2019.
“The Ginnie Mae MBS program produced nearly $64 billion in securities last month that financed housing for more than 246,000 families, illustrating the commitment of our staff and the flexibility of our program,” said Ginnie Mae Principal Executive Vice President Seth Appleton. “Housing finance is a key component of the nation’s economic well-being and Ginnie Mae is steadfast in our mission to ensure that money flows safely and consistently to communities across the United States, while minimizing risks to taxpayers.”
The FHFA is also instructing the GSEs to main loans in COVID-19 forbearance plans in MBS pools for at least the duration of the forbearance plan.
Mortgages that are delinquent for more than four months, historically, were purchased out of MBS pools by the GSEs. Loans with COVID-19 payment forbearance shall be treated “like a natural disaster event” and will remain in the MBS pool.
In addition, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been pressuring the federal government in recent weeks to assist mortgage servicers.
Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Finance Services Committee, sent a letter to Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell requesting funds for servicers.
“The Fed and Treasury should use powers given to them under recent stimulus measures to provide liquidity to servicers facing shortfalls,” House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters and Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said in the letter.
