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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 MBS Portfolio Expands to $2.3T Ginnie's mortgage-backed securities portfolio increased approximately $21 billion in August, with recent growth fueled by steady new issuances as homeowners found added value in the government-backed mortgage market. G innie Mae's mortgage- backed securities out- standing portfolio grew for the 14th consecutive month in August, hitting $2.269 trillion, up from $2.248 trillion in July, and $2.119 trillion last year. This growth was fueled by steady new issuance of Ginnie Mae MBS as homeowners found value in the government-backed mortgage market. New MBS issuance for August was $43.1 bil- lion, supporting the financing of more than 146,000 homeowners and renters. The August issuance includes $41.3 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS and $1.73 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS, including approxi- mately $1.62 billion of loans for multifamily housing. This comes after Ginnie Mae's recent July MBS issuance for $45.5 billion, in efforts to sup- port the financing of more than 155,000 single-family homes and rental units, which included $43 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS, and $2.01 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS—approximately $1.85 billion of loans for multifamily housing. "The current housing market continues to present serious af- fordability challenges for many households. The lack of afford- able supply is exacerbated by markedly higher interest rates from a year ago," said Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo. "The growth in our MBS port- folio, however, shows continued participation in government- backed mortgage programs that provide access to credit for households that need lower down payments and affordable financing."