Ginnie Mae Plans
Investment Vehicle
by Sara Murray
From The Wall Street Journal Online
March 10, 2008
The Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, said it would package new Federal Housing Administration-backed, high-priced mortgage loans into securities on April 1 and begin selling them to investors.
Lenders can begin submitting the FHA-backed loans to Ginnie Mae, which creates government backed securities, on March 24, Ginnie Mae said.
The FHA released new loan limits nationwide for FHA-insured loans today as part of an economic stimulus package that raised the maximum loan ceiling to $729,750 from $362,790. Its goal is to stimulate the credit market and drive down interest rates.
"We believe it's important that Ginnie Mae support the stimulus package and create a vehicle that will improve market liquidity as soon as possible," Thomas R. Weakland, acting vice president of Ginnie Mae, said in the release.
The securities for the larger loans will be accommodated as part of the Ginnie Mae II Mortgage-Backed Securities Program.
All single-family loans higher than FHA's current loan limit of $362,790 will be eligible for inclusion in the new pools.
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