Ginnie Mae MBS issuance shatters record due to 'elastic' business

The white-hot originations market of 2020 drove Ginnie Mae's securitized mortgage volume to an all-time high, sailing well past its old record.

Ginnie closed its 2020 fiscal year by issuing $748 billion in MBS, eclipsing the $451.6 of FY 2019 and its previous record of $504 billion in FY 2017.

"Our business is elastic and our mission is based on meeting the needs of our insuring partners: The FHA, VA and USDA," a spokesperson from Ginnie Mae said in a statement to NMN. "Record-low mortgage rates encouraged borrowers to refinance and for first-time homebuyers to enter the market."

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On a month-by-month basis, Ginnie's total issuance fell slightly to $75.76 billion in September from August's record of $77.62 billion. However, September's issuance greatly surpassed $53.52 billion from September 2019. Moreover, every month of FY 2020 outdid its FY 2019 counterpart.

Ginnie Mae's annual record issuance helped over 2.8 million households secure affordable homes and rental housing — both single and multifamily — compared to 1.8 million the year prior.

"2020 is a year that will stand out in the record books for Ginnie Mae," Seth Appleton, principal executive vice president, said in a press release. "We attracted record capital to support affordable homeownership and rental housing opportunities for millions of American households, advanced key modernization initiatives, and responded swiftly to the COVID-19 national emergency, all while operating in a remote environment."

Ginnie's unpaid principal balance continued its upward trajectory, going over $2.1 trillion in FY 2020. The UPB totaled just under $2.1 trillion in FY 2019, $2 trillion in FY 2018 and nearly $1.9 trillion in FY 2017.

Because Ginnie-backed loans typically represent low-to-moderate income borrowers, they face higher forbearance levels compared to most other loan types. While the latest forbearance numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed big improvement, Ginnie Mae's share still remained relatively inflated.

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MBS Ginnie Mae Affordable housing Mortgage rates FHA The VA Originations
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