Ginnie Mae Issuance Surpasses GSEs, Again

(Update 1 clarifies figures provided by eMBS.)

Total issuance at Ginnie Mae reached $27.1 billion in November, the government agency said earlier this week, bringing the 2008 total to $246 billion, and marking the second straight month that Ginnie Mae-issued MBS deals outpaced similar issuances at Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.02 -0.97%) and Freddie Mac (FRE: 1.14 -1.72%).

The government agency has seen issuance volume surge as regulators and legislators have refocused their attention on revitalizing the Federal Housing Administration during the housing downturn, essentially turning it into the nation’s only source of mortgage liquidity for the subprime market.

“Ginnie Mae has consistently provided liquidity to the market and it is no surprise that our November MBS issuances were strong,” said Joseph Murin, president of Ginnie Mae. “It is further proof that Ginnie Mae is continuing to thrive and provide stability.”

According to data provided to HousingWire by mortgage data and analytics provider eMBS, Inc., fixed issuance — which refers to MBS deals backed by fixed-rate mortgage products — in November at Ginnie Mae was $25.6 billion, while Freddie and Fannie issued $13.7 billion and $22.7 billion, respectively. November’s fixed issuance total at Ginnie was down slightly from the $27.7 billion the agency recorded in October; Fannie Mae had issued $27.1 billion in fixed-rate deals during October, eMBS data show.

Ginnie Mae has now outpaced Fannie in total issuance volume for two straight months, eMBS data show; total issuance includes ARM products. Total GNMA-led issuance in Oct. and Nov. was $28.63 billion and $26.62 billion, while Fannie posted total issuance volumes of $28.0 billion and $23.52 billion for each respective month. (Freddie Mac’s issuance totals have been far lower, totalling $13.7 billion and $14.3 billion in Oct. and Nov., respectively.)

Ginnie Mae-led issuance has not topped either GSE since the mid-1980s, during the aftermath of the S&L crisis that — like now — left a void in funding loans for subprime-credit borrowers.

Ginnie has bounced back in a big way in only a few short months, too. As recently as six months ago, both Fannie and Freddie were regularly seen doubling total issuance volume from Ginnie: in May 2008, eMBS data show that Fannie issued $63.03 billion in mortgages, and Freddie another $47.23 billion, while Ginnie’s issuance total registered a comparatively smaller $20.9 billion.

While California led Ginnie’s monthly issuance in November — is anyone surprised to see this? — most of the mortgages securitized by the government agency during the month were originated in the U.S. Southern region, to the tune of $8.7 billion, Ginnie Mae said.

– Paul Jackson contributed to this report.

Write to Diana Golobay at diana.golobay@housingwire.com.

Disclosure: The author held no relevant investment positions when this story was published. Indirect holdings may exist via mutual fund investments. HW reporters and writers follow a strict disclosure policy, the first in the mortgage trade.