Ginnie Mae President Joe Murin Resigns

Mortgage News Daily has learned that the President of Ginnie Mae, Joseph Murin, has submitted his resignation.

Murin's resignation follows the August 6, 2009 departure of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart. In Lockhart's statement to the public he mentioned that since his tenure began in May of 2006 he had seen the housing market through one of the most difficult periods in history and that it was time to "move on to the next chapter" as the GSEs are now strongly supporting the housing stabilization.

Joe Murin was sworn in as the 16th President of Ginnie Mae on July 7, 2008. In Murin's first public press release after being sworn in he stated...."This is a critical time in the housing industry, it is clear that the market needs safety and security and that is exactly what Ginnie Mae offers - reliable mortgage securitization products that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. As president, I will make sure Ginnie Mae works hard to bring stability back to the industry." 

During his tenure Murin successfully kept his promise of increasing access to affordable home funding for low- to moderate-income families and fostering stability at a time when the access to private funding in the secondary market dissolved.

Over the past year Ginnie Mae has expanded its participation in the mortgage market considerably. For the first six months of 2009, Ginnie Mae provided nearly $207 billion of liquidity to the secondary market, $100 billion more in loan fundings compared to the first six months of 2008 when Ginnie Mae securitized $107 billion in loans.

In June of 2009 Ginnie Mae issued a record $43 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). In total, this year Ginnie Mae is expected to provide over $1 trillion in support to American homeowners looking to purchase a new home or refinance out of a higher costing mortgage payment.

Sources cite there are no negative connotations behind Murin's resignation and that these plans have been in the works for a matter of weeks. Murin is planning to remain deeply involved in the housing and financial services sector. More details expected next week.