TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1478106
M REPORT | 63 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 GOVERNMENT THE LATEST THE LATEST SECONDARY MARKET Ginnie Mae MBS Portfolio Reaches $2.25 Trillion in July Ginnie Mae's MBS portfolio grew for the 13th con- secutive month in July, supporting over 155,000 affordable homeownership and rental units throughout the U.S., including approximately $1.85 billion in loans for multifamily housing. G innie Mae's outstanding mortgage-backed securities portfolio grew for the 13th consecutive month in July, hitting $2.252 trillion, up from $2.229 trillion in June and $2.117 trillion one year ago. Growth in the portfo- lio was fueled by steady new issuance of Ginnie Mae MBS as homeowners found value in the government-backed mortgage market. New MBS issuance for July was $45.5 billion—down $500 million from June—supporting the financing of more than 155,000 single-family homes and rental units. The July issuance includes $43 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS and $2.01 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS, which includes approxi- mately $1.85 billion of loans for multifamily housing. "As Ginnie Mae celebrates 54 years of being a consistent source of low-cost mortgage liquidity, we continue to see steady growth in our portfolio even in a changing and very dynamic housing market," Ginnie Mae EVP Sam Valverde said. The decision comes after Ginnie Mae guaranteed more than $46 billion in mortgage-backed securities in June, helping support affordable homeownership and rental unit development for more than 164,000 households. The June issuance brought the Ginnie Mae MBS program balance outstanding to $2.233 trillion. have historically been left out and underserved the resources to take a chance on their futures—to im- prove their credit, save resources for homeownership and other needs, and build wealth. That's what this is all about." Unequal access to savings, posi- tive credit history, and banking is a national problem that especially impacts renters and contributes to the racial wealth gap. This leaves renters with a minimal safety net to draw from in times of unemployment or unanticipated expenses such as car repair or medical emergencies. For ex- ample, less than half of American households have three months of savings. In 2019, the median cash savings of renter households was $1,400 compared to homeowner cash savings of $10,100. Bridging the Wealth Gap focuses on helping low-income families safe- ly access financial institutions and tools, which federal programs have not typically focused on. Bridging the Wealth Gap expands HUD's work to build a critical continuum between federal rental assistance and homeownership programs by helping renters in HUD programs take the necessary first steps toward financial well-being and potential homeownership through saving, credit building, and banking. This agenda outlines the expansion of as- set building practices for renters as a reparative tool for economic justice. Specifically, Bridging the Wealth Gap announces the fol- lowing current and future actions HUD is taking to promote asset building: Current Asset Building Actions • Launch the Asset Building Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration • Expand Asset Building Programs like the Family Self- Sufficiency Program • Move from Annual to Triennial Income Recertification • Support Renters with Credit and Financial Counseling • Help HUD-Assisted Young Adults Save • Partner with Other Federal Agencies and Stakeholders Future Asset Building Actions • Build Credit History Through Rent Reporting • Integrate Financial Well-Being and Supportive Services into PHA Standard Practice • Improve Homeownership Programs and Supports for HUD-Assisted Renters The $113 million-dollar Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) NOFO released is a historic expansion of the program and central to HUD's agenda for economic justice. The FSS program is the nation's larg- est asset-building program for low-income families. The program currently serves around 65,000 participants at over 700 Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). FSS is a voluntary program that uses a combination of coordination of services and supports from com- munity partners and an escrow savings account to help partici- pants grow their earned income and savings and increase their financial well-being overall. Upon graduation from the program, the average family participating in FSS in 2021 had about $9,500 in savings. On May 17, 2022, HUD published a new FSS rule, a critical step towards making FSS available to even more families. Among its changes, the rule permits any adult household member, not only the official head of household, to enroll in the program and eliminates regula- tions that were potential barriers to program graduation. The rule also eliminates a cap on savings that had been in place for higher- income families. HUD anticipates being able to fund new FSS programs, in addi- tion to renewals, through the $113 million funding opportunity an- nounced today. For the first time, owners of Multifamily properties participating in the Section 8 as- sisted housing program are eligible to apply for funding under this grant opportunity. The FY22 FSS NOFO competition was posted to Grants.gov and HUD.gov on August 4, 2022, with an applica- tion deadline of October 3, 2022.