Propelled by the refinancing boom, by new government programs, and by the lure of servicing profits, volume in Government National Mortgage Association loans has soared this year.
In 1992, Ginnie Mae securitized almost $82 billion. As of Sept. 30, the agency already had securitized more than $92 billion.
No company has seen a greater surge in volume than Norwest Mortgage Inc., based in Des Moines.' According to Mortgage Marketplace, and American Banker publication. Norwest issued more than $12 billion in Ginnie Mae securities in the first 10 months of the year. That's more than double the amount by second-ranked Prudential Home Mortgage Co. (See table).
|Good Business'
David Boberg, Norwest's senior vice president of secondary marketing, said the additional red tape of government loans had led lenders to shy away from Ginnie Maes.
"Some lenders have concentrated on conventional loans," Mr. Boberg said. "We have concentrated on good business, whether it's conventional or government."
Norwest now has a 10% share of the Ginnie Mae market.
At BancBoston Mortgage Corp., Mark F. Johnson, executive vice president, said his company, based in Jacksonville, Fla., had only a slight rise in government loan production.
The Refinancing Boom
It's the refinancing boom that is fueling Ginnie Mae loan growth at Resource Bancshares Mortgage Group Inc., said managing director David W. Johnson.
"Everyone is kind of shocked about the volume here," Mr. Johnson said.
Resource Bancshares, which buys most of its government loans from correspondents, securitized almost $9 billion so far this year.
Mr. Johnson said Resource Bancshares, based in Columbia, S.C., does not "discriminate" against Federal Housing Administration or Veterans Administration loans.
"It's all a matter of price," he said, "If the market says the government loans are worth more, than we will go for them. Shoot, everyone just wants the loans."
