Can FHA and Ginnie Mae really keep up?
The collapse of the private label MBS market means that Ginnie Mae and the GSEs are primarily providing secondary market liquidity. In March 2008, Ginnie Mae issued $15.1 billion MBS, nearly triple the volume issued in February 2007. Also, many of our issuers have suggested that 30 to 40 percent of their volume will be government-insured products, which means MBS issuance is likely to increase significantly. Ginnie Mae expects to issue at least $20 billion per month for the remainder of the year. The total volume for 2008 will likely be twice that of 2007 ($175 – $200 billion compared to $97.4 billion). All of this means that Ginnie Mae is playing the role Congress intended. Investors retain confidence in Ginnie Mae MBS, and continue to purchase them, thereby maintaining liquidity for government-insured products. Currently, we have a staff of 69 people. We are not fully staffed. A full staff would be 72. Since much of our operations are outsourced to private businesses, we are able to
