FHA's Cassidy on leave, Ginnie Mae's Gormley filling in

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Frank Cassidy, who also serves as the FHA's deputy assistant secretary for single family mortgages, has gone on leave.

Cassidy's leave, which is related to "family matters," began earlier this month and will extend to at least the end of April, according to a Politico Pro report.

Ginnie Mae President Joseph Gormley is serving as the acting FHA commissioner. Gormley previously served as deputy assistant secretary for single-family and is familiar with the work he will need to do as acting commissioner.

Cassidy and Gormley both had served in their respective roles at the FHA and Ginnie on an acting basis before receiving confirmation to officially fill them.

Ginnie guarantees mortgage-backed securities that FHA and other agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Rural Housing Service back at the loan level. Around 62% of outstanding loans in Ginnie's securitizations were FHA products at the end of FY 2025.

Current FHA, Ginnie budget proposals

FHA and Ginnie both are part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Proposed budgets for them released last week call for funding at current levels in the coming fiscal year despite plans for other cuts at HUD.

The proposed fiscal year 2027 budget for Ginnie, which is considered self funded through program fees and a source of revenue for the Treasury, is $56 million. That number matches FY 2026's allocation.

FHA's budget requests for $160 million in administrative contract expenses, $400 billion in loan guarantee commitment authority and $1 million in direct loan authority also are equal to fiscal year 2026 amounts. 

Although there has been some concern about higher FHA delinquency rates recently, they've been attributed in part to a change in servicing rules that may be temporary.

The proposed budget for the FHA forecasts that it will generate $9.4 billion in "negative subsidy receipts" in FY 2027, which will be transferred to a reserve account for the mutual mortgage insurance fund that absorbs losses from loans it insures.

The overall ratio for the MMI fund is 11.47%, far above the required statutory minimum of 2%, according to a report published late last year.