Ginnie Mae has issued its first comprehensive report [1] on the secondary mortgage market liquidity of mortgages that are U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-guaranteed and pooled by issuers into Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities (MBS).The report is in accordance with an Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 [2] requirement, and was delivered to Congress last month.
“Ginnie Mae and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have built a robust, resilient, and effective program to support homeownership for veterans and active duty servicemembers,” said Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo [3]. “The VA liquidity report provides an in-depth look at the health and liquidity of the program over time, which is crucial to ensuring the mortgage benefit that our military has earned is available through all economic cycles.”
The Ginnie Mae MBS program is designed to provide liquidity and stability to support homeownership for veterans and active-duty personnel, particularly first-time homeowners. In Fiscal Year 2022, Ginnie Mae VA-backed MBS-guaranteed mortgages helped more than 204,000 veteran and active-duty households become first-time homebuyers. Driven by the program’s success over the years, more than 727,000 first-time homeowners are in the Ginnie Mae portfolio, and the overall VA share of MBS issuance has experienced significant growth.
According to the report, McCargo recommends the following actions:
- Establishment of a formalized Ginnie Mae/VA working group to discuss market conditions and program issues.
- Establishment of a task force including Ginnie Mae, the VA, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to monitor and discuss business practices relating to VA lending.
- Implementation of memoranda of understanding to facilitate information-sharing within these groups.
“VA appreciates Ginnie Mae’s efforts to review the liquidity of the VA Home Loan program,” said John Bell III, Executive Director, Loan Guaranty Service, VA [4]. “VA will continue to work with GNMA to ensure VA home loans remain the product of choice for veterans in meeting their homebuying and refinancing needs.”