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M REPORT | 63 SECONDARY MARKET THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T Ginnie Mae/Fed Bank of Chicago Program Reaches MBS Milestone With the Mortgage Partnership Finance Program having surpassed $3 billion in mortgage-backed securities issuance, Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo noted that "the milestone demonstrates [the program's] value in the marketplace. T he Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago announced today that total issuance under the Mortgage Partnership Finance® Program (MPF®) recently surpassed $3 bil- lion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The MPF Government MBS product resulted from a partnership forged by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and Ginnie Mae to issue securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae and backed by mortgages originated by Federal Home Loan Bank member financial institutions. The MPF Government MBS product provides mortgage lenders, particularly smaller institutions, direct access to the secondary mortgage market and more mortgage loan solution options for their valued custom- ers. Ginnie Mae developed the first mortgage-backed security in 1970, by pooling loans into a security sold in the secondary market. "The MPF Program is an important partnership for making the Ginnie Mae MBS system ac- cessible to small community banks and lender partners, and this $3 billion milestone demonstrates its value in the marketplace," Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo said. "This program advances our mission and commitment to ensure liquidity for government mortgage products and create more equitable and affordable homeownership opportunities for households across the country." Federal Home Loan Banks across the nation offer the MPF Government MBS product to their members. "As the MPF Program cele- brates 25 years of helping commu- nity lenders nationwide, achieving this milestone with Ginnie Mae is another testament to our con- tinued strong partnership," said John Stocchetti, Executive Vice President of the MPF Program. "Our business model provides community lenders access to the secondary market, and our relationship with these lenders gives their communities access to affordable mortgage products." The MPF Program's partnership with Ginnie Mae began in 2014 and continues to provide lenders a channel to the MBS marketplace. Ginnie Mae MBS Portfolio Growth Exceeds $2.2T, Extends COVID Relief May's MBS issuance total brings Ginnie Mae's MBS program balance to $2.216 trillion, the highest in the agency's history. G innie Mae guaranteed more than $49 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in May 2022, helping support afford- able homeownership and rental unit development for more than 170,000 households. The May issu- ance takes the overall outstanding Ginnie Mae MBS program bal- ance to $2.216 trillion, the highest in the agency's history. "We continue to see strong growth in the total portfolio as many consumers choose govern- ment-backed mortgages as the most affordable option for their affordable financing needs—par- ticularly for homeowners who are looking for more affordable down payments through government- backed programs," Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo said. "Although total new mortgage origination volume is slowing due to rising mortgage rates and rising home prices, the low down payment options available from government programs are helping many homebuyers bridge these cost gaps." Ginnie Mae's May issuance includes $46.27 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS and $2.86 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS, which in- cludes approximately $2.75 billion of loans for multifamily housing. In addition to reporting its record MBS issuance, Ginnie Mae also announced two separate All Participants Memoranda regard- ing the ongoing impact of the pandemic, extending certain delinquency reporting exemptions for issuers and the use of alter- native audit procedures. Details regarding the extension of these temporary measures related to delinquency thresholds and audit policy were written in "Extension of Temporary Relief from the Acceptable Delinquency Threshold Requirement" (Ginnie Mae APM 22-05), and "Extension of Permitting Alternative Procedures for Certain Aspects of Issuer Annual Audit Report" (Ginnie Mae APM 22-06), respectively. "In order to continue protect- ing the healthy functioning of the housing finance market as the im- pact of COVID-19 lingers, issuers still need these prudent flexibilities to help manage persistent opera- tional challenges," McCargo said. The extended relief policies underscore Ginnie Mae's commit- ment to helping issuers support the needs of homeowners as the COVID-19 National Emergency continues to affect them. The policies also recognize that COVID-19 may have impacted the ability of issuer's independent auditors to perform certain on-site document custodian review audit activities for the fiscal year ending on or before September 30, 2022, which require physical inspection and observation. The MPF Government MBS product provides mortgage lenders, particularly smaller institutions, direct access to the secondary mortgage market and more mortgage loan solution options for their valued customers.