[1]Ginnie Mae [2] set a new monthly issuance record in July by guaranteeing $47.06 billion in mortgage-backed securities during the month, according to an announcement from the corporation on Thursday.
The new record set in July surpassed the previous mark of $46.1 billion, set in July 2009. For Fiscal Year 2015, Ginnie Mae has guaranteed more than $346 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities, way ahead of the $242 billion the corporation guaranteed by this point in FY 2014.
"This growth is clear indication of the value of our single securitization platform," Ginnie Mae president Ted Tozer said. "The scalability of our platform allows Ginnie Mae to support the shift from traditional depository institutions to new entrants – which have primarily been non-depositories. The rapid rise of these new entrants has been critical to our growth and to keeping mortgage credit available to middle class America."
Given recent consumer demand, FHA's lowering of the mortgage insurance premium by 50 basis points early in the year, and competitive interest rates for FHA, Veterans Affairs (VA), and Rural Housing Service (RHS), overall government lending is expected to continue at its current all-time high pace. In July, purchase activity comprised more than 60 percent of total issuances – compared to 34 percent for loan refinances.
“The increase in purchase activity is further proof that the housing recovery is moving into high gear,” Tozer said.
The vast majority of July MBS issuances were of the single-family variety ($45.5 billion out of $47.06 billion). Ginnie Mae II single-family pools comprised $43.8 billion of the single-family issuance, which includes $809 million worth of Ginnie Mae Home Equity Conversion Mortgage-Backed Securities. Ginnie Mae I single-family pools added another $1.6 billion. Multi-family MBS issuance totaled $1.5 billion in July for Ginnie Mae.
Ginnie Mae's MBS portfolio totaled $1.57 trillion in unpaid principal balance at the end of July, according to the announcement. Tozer stated that "Despite this rapid growth, the Ginnie Mae platform, while fueling competition, also spreads risk among our issuers."