Ginnie Mae

Interest rate increases and economic concerns led the government entity to lower the required amount from $1 million to $250,000.

Updated counterparty requirements recently coordinated with the Federal Housing Finance Agency affect a constituency that has kept growing, albeit at a slightly slower pace, according to new mortgage-backed securities research.

HUD official Alanna McCargo takes over the top job at the government corporation, which has had a series of acting leaders since 2017.

While overall volume was down in August, it remained historically strong, particularly in the securitized market for home equity withdrawal loans made to borrowers age 62 and up.

The guarantor has for the first time proposed a risk-based capital requirement for companies not subject to other federal regulation. The industry says the plan, which would impose a heavy charge for servicing portfolios, could drive lenders away from government-backed programs.

The volume of Ginnie securities issued in December marked the first time more than $80 billion has been issued in a month.

The deadline for inclusion in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities has been extended and an exception will be made for some participations.

Whether Ginnie issuance increases in the future may depend in part on the extent to which the Biden administration wishes to tap the FHA to promote affordable housing and homeownership.

Even government-sponsored enterprise loans, which have seen forbearance rates drop for 24 weeks in a row, saw a slight uptick.

Rates could be 50 basis points steeper than the MBA’s current projections, which anticipate the 30-year mortgage will average 3.3% next year, up from nearly 3% this year.

The sector’s leaders are hoping for better in 2021, while not forgetting lessons learned about the market’s risks in 2020.

FHA volumes, a key contributor to Ginnie Mae issuance, could fall as long as the refinancing boom continues — unless the FHA takes a step that could reverse that trend.

The forbearance rate improved to the a level not seen since early April, but getting back to pre-COVID levels will require employment gains or additional government stimulus measures, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The origination boom generated another profit for the company in the third quarter, when also it obtained a novel source of liquidity to support its servicing operations.

How we resolve millions of delinquent mortgages due to COVID is the only question that matters.

A booming housing market contrasts with a slow-to-improve job market, making for lopsided improvement in the number of troubled mortgages, according to numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The overall forbearance rate was under 6% for the first time since April as another large swath of loans fell out of CARES Act coverage, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Forbearance rates dropped below 7% for the first time in six months, but the decrease is largely due to the ending of the initial six-month term of forbearance granted by the legislation, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

GSE mortgages in forbearance fell for the 17th straight week, spearheading the overall downtrend, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The net share of mortgages in Ginnie Mae securitizations with suspended payments appears to be stabilizing, but the number of new requests creates doubt about whether it will subside.