Ginnie Mae MBS Activity Soars in First Half of 2008

Fueled by a huge surge in FHA lending, issuance of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities jumped a whopping 188 percent on a year-over-year basis in the first six months of 2008. Countrywide continued to edge out Wells Fargo for the title of top Ginnie Mae issuer in the first half – but not by much. Countrywide issued $22.3 billion in Ginnie Mae securities while Wells produced $21.2 billion, a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking reveals. Third place JPMorgan Chase posted the largest increase of the top five issuers with a huge 355 percent increase in Ginnie Mae MBS issuance.

Ginnie Mae MBS Production Jumped 94% in 1Q08

A big surge in FHA lending helped push Ginnie Mae MBS production up a whopping 94 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to numbers compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.

For the first three months of the year, $35.7 billion in new Ginnie Mae securities were issued. This compared to just $18.4 billion a year earlier. Over the past year, the Ginnie Mae share of the total MBS market has more than doubled from 5 to 11 percent.

Among lenders, J.P. Morgan Chase posted the biggest increase in Ginnie Mae activity in the first quarter with a huge 427 percent surge. The firm produced $6.5 billion – or 18 percent of the total market – in Ginnie Mae MBS during the three month period. Wells Fargo remained the top Ginnie Mae issuer in early 2008 with $7.6 billion in volume and a 21 percent market share.