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Decoder: Meet Ginnie Mae
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Kai Ryssdal: Ginnie Mae, the Government National Mortgage Association, said today it issued a record $34.5 billion in mortgage-backed securities last month. Not bad for a far less well-known sibling. Ginnie comes from the same family as two other companies we've gotten to know pretty well over the last year. That would be Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They're the government-backed companies that are behind a huge percentage of the mortgages in this country. And who were, it should be said, recipients of a large chunk of bailout money last fall. So, how does Ginnie fit into that family? Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer has the answer in the latest installment of The Marketplace Decoder.
NANCY MARSHALL GENZER:
RICO GAGLIANO: She's a bit of a wallflower. Wears sensible shoes. She's more stable than her siblings, Fannie and Freddie, but was never as popular. And she has a face only an economist could love. Meet Ginne Mae.
OK, so maybe Ginnie Mae wouldn't make it as a contestant on the Dating Game. But economists do love her.
ALAN MENDELOWTIZ: She has a good personality.
Allan Mendelowitz heads the Federal Housing Finance Board. He says a good personality boils down to one thing: stability. And Ginnie Mae has it in spades. She didn't go through the partial privatization process that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did. Ginnie is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And Ginnie only deals with conventional mortgages issued by government agencies, like the Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration. Ginnie guarantees these mortgages. And she's backed by her favorite uncle -- Uncle Sam.
MENDELOWITZ: If you have a Ginnie Mae guarantee, you have a full faith and credit guarantee of the federal government.
Investors like Ginnie's conservative bent. Three years ago, at the height of the subprime craziness, she guaranteed less than 5 percent of mortgage-backed securities At the end of last year, that number zoomed up to 35 percent. She's now neck-and-neck with Fannie and Freddie.
But Ginnie is still very picky about the loans she backs. She's now popular enough to be included in President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan. New White House guidelines for loan modifications will apply to most Ginnie-backed mortgages. And if there are foreclosures, investors in Ginnie's mortgage-backed securities still get paid. And guess who might be remade in Ginnie's image?
BERT ELY: When folks talk about nationalizing Fannie and Freddie it is quite possible that they'll be restructured in a way that would be very much like the Ginnie Mae structure.
And, banking consultant Bert Ely says, eventually, Fannie and Freddie could be folded into Ginnie Mae. As an amped-up federal agency, Ginnie could forget about being a contestant. She'd be a player.
In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
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I as most who have commented is in the same place. Being that ginnie mae is my loan investor. If any one hears that ginnie gets on board, please let me know !eaglewolve@msn.com
I am in dire need of a modification on my loan, due to the property taxes going up and causing my mortgage to increase by almost $700.00. Also, with my loan being a rehab loan, I had to take out 2 add'l loans to complete my rehab, not to mention maxing out my Home Depot account. Which has increased my debt to income and I can not refinance. My loan is a Ginnie Mae with Wells Fargo and they refuse to modify my loan and allow me to enjoy my home.
Angela Baquet
I just found out that I have Ginnie Mae loan, and have been trying to work with a loan modification with Gmac, since Jan with no luck. Now I am trying to do a short sale, which has been on the table with no results since May, and now Gmac said they refused the short sale because I dont live in the house, which is untrue. The house was rented, but in 2008, I lived in the house. So again the games continue. Now Wednesday they are foreclosing on my home. I sent all the necessary papers but no luck. Judy/Henderson Nv
Freddie and Fannie, but not Ginnie? I am on my second attempt to get a loan modification. There were requirements I had to meet on my end. I have met those obligation. However, one of the reasons, I was denied the first time, was my loan was held by Ginnie Mae. I was told that if Ginnie Mae was "on board" I would probably get a loan modification. I google almost every day. I have seen no indication that Ginnie Mae is "on board" . Tragic. We bail out Freddie, Fannie and Wells Fargo, my Mortgage company, but a part of the U.S. Federal Government that will probably cost me my home, not save it. It boggles my mind.
I, too, was just given all the information for me to begin my loan modification under the Obama Mortgage plan until my mortgage lender realized I had an FHA Ginnie Mae loan. Please tell me since the March ruling that someone has come up with a way to include all of us who do not have Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loans. We, too, are suffering this economic crisis as well. Please advise what we are to do who are heading towards foreclosure with a Ginnie Mae??
I agree with By teresa boone - Countrywide told be the exact same thing. She immediately start asking me about my bills when can I pay my mortgage and my credit is going to be mess up. I told her I didn't want to hear that mess, I already know this. I told her I was qualified for the Housing Assistance Plan and then she tell me I am not because my investor is Ginnie Mae, I ask her who in the hell is Ginnie Mae. When I purchase my home from Centex they didn't mention Ginnie Mae they said they put me in this American Dream program.
I have the same problem as others with ginnie may not being part of the Obama program. My home value is down and my pay has been reduced by 10%, and will be down another 5% by July. A total of 15% monthly pay reduction. I would like to take advantage of the new interest rates to offset these losses. Please do a program on this! Thank you!
I am also in the same boat, I have contacted my mortgage company Flagstar and they have told me the same thing the stimulus package is only for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae customers. I have my loan with Ginnie Mae, try contacting the main office in Tallahassee 202-401-8970 and complain. It is unfair we should get help. My home has drop is value over 60% and there are over 120 foreclosures.
I can understand Ginnie Mae has a face only economist can love but in this economic time, it doe not amount to much when there are no advantages for homeowners who are in a bind and cannot take advantage of the stimulus, i have heard that people who qualified becasue they were under fannie mae and freddie mac as far a s obama's stimulus is concerned only neede to make a phone call and give information to their motgage companies over the phone and had to send an x amount of money to the mortgage company, ( the money was not based on how far back they were on their mortgage)I was even told that their mortgae payments dropped as low as $200.00 to $300.00 less than what they were paying a month and then they had a free month before they had to sent the first revised mortgae payment in. I called my mortgae company ( COUNTY WIDE) and asked about the modification loan, she did not give me a yes or a no she transfered me and the next representative starting asking me information about my income, the bills I PAY A MONTH AND THEN SHE SAID, YOU DO NOT QUALIFY FOR THE STIMULUS BECAUSE YOU ARE UNDER GINNIE MAE, BUT THEN SHE SAID A REP WILL CALL YOU, AND IF WE CAN HELP YOU YOUR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS WILL BE MORE THAN WHAT YOU OR PAYING NOW.. I DO NOT THINK I NEEDED TO HEAR THAT, THIS IS LIKE BEING BETWEEN A HARD ROCK AND A SOFT PLACE. IN OTHER WORDS MY NEIGHBOR WHO IS IN THE SAME SITUATION I AM IN WILL BE ABEL TO SAY HIS OR HER HOME AND PAY LESS PER MONTH OR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS AND MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET ASSISTANCE BUT WILL HAVE TO PAY MORE MORTGAGE PAYMENTS, BUT MIND YOU LIKE THE YOUNDG LADY TOLD ME ON THE PHONE THIS IS NO REFINANCING, GIVE ME A BREAK.
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