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All Participant Memorandums (APMs)

APMs (All Participant Memoranda) are issued by the Office of the President (OOP) generally to announce policy and MBS Guide changes accessed by Issuers, Document Custodians and other participants in Ginnie Mae programs.

5 most recent APMS

9/22/2023 - APM 23-11

Revised HMBS Pooling Eligibility Requirements

Ginnie Mae’s current requirements for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) limit securitization to one participation related to a particular HECM each month. Issuers utilize a combination of financing vehicles and working capital to finance HECM disbursements between the time that the HECM loans are originated or the HECM draws are funded and when the participations are securitized into HMBS. Depending on timing, Issuers may be required to wait until the following month to securitize these participations into Ginnie Mae HMBS. The potential delay in securitization can result in liquidity pressures to Issuers and counterparty risk to Ginnie Mae. Ginnie Mae is enhancing its HMBS requirements to allow securitization of multiple participations related to a particular HECM in any one issuance month.

These program enhancements are effective October 01, 2023.

Requirements When Pooling Multiple Participations Per Month
When pooling additional participations for a particular HECM in a particular month, those participations must meet the following additional requirements.

Participations must be sequential (e.g. 005, 006);
Only one participation per HECM per HMBS is permitted:
Any prior pools containing participations on a given HECM have been issued¹ before additional participations can be submitted; and
When the participation is the result of a HECM disbursement occurring on a day other than the first of the month, it must meet the requirements listed below.

Requirements for Participations Disbursed or Funded After the 1st of the Month
When HECM loans are originated, or borrowers request draws, interest accrues beginning the day after the disbursement through the end of that month. However, when securitized as an HMBS participation, a full month of interest is owed to security holders. A disbursement made after the 1st of the month and securitized in that same month results in a participation that is undercollateralized.

To securitize such participations, Issuers must:

Reduce the original principal balance of the Participation at issuance by the amount of the interest due to security holders, but not owed by the borrower prior to pooling. The reduced amount is determined by dividing the actual HECM draw ending balance by the HECM draw ending balance with full interest and multiplying the result by the amount of the draw. For full details on the formula and calculation, see Chapter 35 part 5 section A(4) of the Ginnie Mae Mortgage Backed Securities Guide, HUD Handbook 5500.3, REV-1 (MBS Guide);
Segregate the portion of the draw excluded from the original principal balance of the Participation in a balance that is held, controlled, and accounted for in a manner that ensures it is not and cannot be securitized in a different HMBS; and in accordance with Chapter 35 Part 12 Section E;
Add the segregated balance to the accrued interest owed by the borrower and add the result, in accordance with Chapter 35, Part 11, Section G, to the ending principal balance of the Participation, as of the close of business on the last business day of the month in which securitization occurred; and
Upon performing the step immediately above, reduce to zero the segregated balance associated with that particular Participation.

Chapter 35 parts 5, and 11 of the MBS Guide have been updated to reflect these changes.

If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact your Account Executive in the Office of Issuer and Portfolio Management.

________________________________________________

¹As used here, "issued" means that the HMBS has been written to the Central Registry as further described in Chapter 12 of the MBS Guide

9/14/2023 - APM 23-10

Addition of Social Bond Content to Single Family Prospectuses

Ginnie Mae is announcing that it is revising its standard forms of prospectus for Single-Family Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), in order to detail attributes of Ginnie Mae MBS that Investors may use to determine if Ginnie Mae MBS meet their requirements to be deemed “Social Bonds”.

Single Family Ginnie Mae MBS are backed by residential mortgage loans that are insured or guaranteed by U.S. government programs offered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service (RHS) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) . The insurance or guaranties extended under these programs reduce borrower credit risk, which promotes broader access to mortgage credit and/or less costly credit for borrowers, thereby expanding homeownership access and affordability among targeted populations (low-to-moderate income borrowers, veterans, senior citizens, rural communities, and/or tribal, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities). Ginnie Mae guarantees that security holders will receive all pass-through payments of principal and interest due to them. This guaranty furthers the purpose of promoting access to mortgage credit throughout the Nation (including central cities, rural areas, and underserved areas) by improving the distribution of investment capital available for residential mortgage financing. Additionally, Ginnie Mae provides monthly disclosure files that update the collateral characteristics for each MBS.

The Single-Family Forward MBS prospectuses affected by this announcement and their respective effective dates are listed below. The revised prospectuses that are effective October 1, 2023, are attached to this APM; those effective November 1, 2023 will be attached to a future APM. The prospectuses will be incorporated into the Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Guide, HUD Handbook 5500.3, REV-1 (MBS Guide) on their respective effective dates.

Effective for October 1, 2023 Issuances

Appendix	Title	Form
IV-04	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae I MBS (Single-Family Mortgages)	HUD-11717
IV-20	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae II MBS (Single-Family Mortgages)	HUD-11717-II
IV-21	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae II MBS (Adjustable Rate Mortgages)	HUD-11772-II

Effective for November 1, 2023 Issuances

Appendix	Title	Form
IV-05	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae II MBS (Graduated Payment Mortgages)	HUD-11747
IV-06	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae I MBS (Growing Equity Mortgages)	HUD-11712
IV-07	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae I MBS (Serial Note Securities)	HUD-1734
IV-22	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae II MBS (Graduated Payment Mortgages)	HUD-11747-II
IV-23	Prospectus - Ginnie Mae II MBS (Growing Equity Mortgages)	HUD-11717-II

Ginnie Mae is currently evaluating whether to add similar “Social Bond” content to its Home Equity Conversion, Manufactured Housing, and Multifamily MBS prospectuses. Any such designation would be announced in future APMs.

If you have any questions about the content of this Memorandum, please contact your Account Executive in the Office of Issuer and Portfolio Management directly.

6/14/2023 - APM 23-09

Electronic Signatures and Remote Online Notarization for Power of Attorney

Ginnie Mae is pleased to extend the use of electronic signatures in conjunction with Remote Online Notarization (RON), as previously announced in APM 21-07, to include the ability for all Ginnie Mae Issuers to use RON in circumstances requiring a Power of Attorney (POA). In a continued effort to further modernize elements of the Mortgage-Backed Securities programs, effective immediately, and subject to the requirements referenced below, Ginnie Mae is permitting the use of electronic signatures used with RON to execute POA documents that are in some situations necessary to obtain Single-Family government insured or guaranteed loans on “paper” mortgages.

If using RON for POA, Issuers are subject to the electronic signature and notarization requirements outlined in Chapter 24, Part 3, § A (2) (b) of the Mortgage-Backed Securities Guide 5500.3, Rev-1 (“MBS Guide”). Issuers must continue to follow all insuring or guarantying agency guidance regarding POA eligibility and requirements, including the circumstances under which a borrower is permitted to use an attorney-in-fact to obtain Single-Family government insured or guaranteed loans. These circumstances can apply to borrowers who are unable to execute loan documents in-person, such as service members on overseas duty or on an unaccompanied tour. For more information on the specific requirements, eligible documents, and conditions in which a POA can be used, please refer to the applicable insuring or guarantying agency’s loan program guidelines.

Please note that the securitization of mortgages where the promissory note is an eNote is reserved for participants in the Digital Collateral Program only (who are approved specifically as eIssuers). This memorandum does not permit Issuers that have not been approved as eIssuers to securitize or deliver for securitization by Ginnie Mae any mortgage where the promissory note is signed electronically or an eNote. All other loan and pool certification requirements not expressly addressed by this memorandum remain unchanged.

Concurrently with this APM, Ginnie Mae is updating Appendix V-01, Chapter 3 of the MBS Guide to incorporate the electronic signature and notarization requirements for Loan Modifications from APM 21-07, which were inadvertently omitted with the publication of APM 22-01. The requirements announced in this APM have also been included in Appendix V-01, Chapter 3. All MBS Guide updates are effective immediately.

If you have any additional questions about the content of this Memorandum, please contact your Account Executive in the Office of Issuer and Portfolio Management directly.

6/1/2023 - APM 23-08

Single Family Pool Delivery Module (SFPDM) Adoption for Single Family and Manufactured Housing Program Issuers

As announced in APM 22-02 on January 31, 2022, Ginnie Mae is transitioning from Single Family and Manufactured Housing Program pooling in GinnieNET to the new Single Family Pool Delivery Module (SFPDM) in MyGinnieMae. Since SFPDM became available in April 2022, Single Family and Manufactured Housing Issuers have continued to actively transition from GinnieNET and have securitized over $14 billion through the modernized application to date.

To remain compliant in Ginnie Mae’s Single Family and Manufactured Housing Programs, Issuers must be pooling in SFPDM or testing their own Pool Delivery Dataset (PDD) in the Validation and Testing Tool (VTT) by July 31, 2023. Issuers planning to only submit Manual Entry pools must start using SFPDM by July 31, 2023, as PDD development is not required in this instance. The SFPDM Training for Manual Entry Pool Submissions provides step-by-step guidance on how to submit pools in SFPDM manually.

Ginnie Mae continues to monitor the transition of Issuers, while actively considering adoption data, industry trends, and Issuer feedback. To ensure smooth business operations for Issuers that may need to finalize their PDD testing after the July mandate, GinnieNET pooling functions will remain available until December 1, 2023.

Following December 1, 2023, SFPDM will be the only application available for Single Family and Manufactured Housing pooling. A subsequent APM will announce corresponding MBS Guide Changes. Ginnie Mae’s latest SFPDM and PDD Adoption Timeline, PDD requirements, and additional SFPDM resources, can be found in Modernization Bulletin #25.

For questions and additional information regarding the transition to SFPDM and the PDD, please contact askGinnieMae@hud.gov.

5/30/2023 - APM 23-07

Transition from LIBOR to SOFR-Based Rates for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM)

Publication of the representative USD London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will cease after June 30, 2023. In accordance with the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, passed by Congress as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103) and the related regulations, existing LIBOR contracts without provisions for a replacement benchmark rate will transition to spread-adjusted term rates based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). FHA has announced in Mortgagee Letter 2023-09, that the new indexes shall be the applicable Refinitiv USD IBOR Cash Fallback based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group’s Term SOFR Rates (CME Term SOFR) plus the applicable spread adjustment (Replacement Index) for legacy LIBOR based HECM ARMs¹. Additionally, FHA has announced that new HECM originations may be based on either the 30-day average SOFR, or the 1-year Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT). This APM provides guidance to Issuers for the transition of existing, or legacy, adjustable-rate HECMs based on LIBOR to the Replacement Index and announces a new pool type for new annually adjusting HECMs based on SOFR.

Transition of existing HECMs and HMBS

Existing LIBOR based HECM ARMs will convert to the Replacement Index as follows:

Existing LIBOR based Adjustable Rate HECMs	Replacement Index*
Annually Adjustable Rate HECMs	12-Month CME Term SOFR
Monthly Adjustable Rate HECMs	1-Month CME Term SOFR

Adjustable Rate HECMs will remain based on LIBOR until they convert to the applicable Replacement Index on their first change date, or periodic adjustment date for which the index in effect on the lookback date is SOFR, that occurs after June 30, 2023². Monthly Adjustable LIBOR based HMBS will convert to the Replacement Index by September 1, 2023. However, annually adjustable HECMs may have differing change dates, therefore annually adjusting LIBOR based HMBS will begin to transition to the Replacement Index on September 1, 2023 and can contain a combination of HECMs indexed to LIBOR and HECMs indexed to the Replacement Index until all such mortgages have converted. In all cases, the interest rate of the HMBS will transition in a manner consistent with the treatment of the HMBS as a fixed investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Updates to HMBS Pool Types and New SOFR Based Pool Type

To support the transition, and forward pooling of participations, Ginnie Mae is retaining the LIBOR based HMBS pool types for monthly and annually adjusting HECMs, types “H ML” and “H AL.” However, beginning with Issuances on or after July 1, 2023, the LIBOR based HMBS may only contain loans originated and funded prior to July 1, 2023, and the subsequent participations thereof.

Monthly and Annually Adjustable HMBS pool types based on the 1-year CMT Index will not change. Newly originated HECMs and subsequent participations of HECMs based on the CMT Index are eligible for pooling in the “H RM” and “H RA” pool types.

New SOFR Based Pool Type

Ginnie Mae is also releasing a new pool type “H SA” for annually adjusting HECMs based on SOFR that are originated on or after July 1, 2023. The index will be 30-day average SOFR, which is the compounded average of the SOFR over a rolling 30-day period, as administered and published daily by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York³. The new pool type will be available for issuances on or after July 1, 2023.

NOTE: Annually Adjustable HECMs that convert to the Replacement Index are ineligible for the new “H SA” HMBS pool type announced above.

Additional Updates to HECM Requirements

In Mortgagee Letter 2023-09, FHA also announced a floor of zero for a HECM Interest Rate Index, and a maximum interest rate for monthly adjustable HECMs. For annually adjusting HECMs, the floor would be the higher of the initial interest rate minus the lifetime cap, but not less than the margin. For monthly adjustable HECMs the floor rate is equal to the margin, and the maximum interest rate is 10% above the initial interest rate. Please see Appendix III-28 of the Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Guide, HUD Handbook 5500.3, Rev-1 (MBS Guide) for more detailed information.

Chapter 35, Appendices III-28 (11705H and 11706H Instructions); IV-29 (HMBS Base Prospectus); IV-32 (HMBS Partial Statement of Terms); and Glossary of the MBS Guide have been updated accordingly.

If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact your Account Executive in the Office of Issuer and Portfolio Management.

___________________________________

¹The CME Term SOFR indices are found at: https://www.refinitiv.com/en/financial-data/financial-benchmarks/usd-ibor-cash-fallbacks Issuers must use the “All-In” CME Term SOFR Rate and select the “Feature” (No Floor) when downloading historical data.

²In accordance with FHA’s requirements, the index rate is the rate published on the first business day of the week; and is in effect 30 days before the interest rate change date. For example: 30 days before August 1, 2023, is July 2, a Sunday. The rate in effect is the rate from Monday June 26, 2023. Since the LIBOR rates are still in effect through June 30, the August 1, 2023, change will be based on LIBOR.

³The 1-year CMT index is found at: https://apps.newyorkfed.org/markets/autorates/sofr-avg-ind

Last Modified: 2/8/2023 9:41 AM

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All ​Participant Memorandums (APMs)

Program Guidelines

All Participant Memorandums (APMs)