Ginnie Mae recently announced that it plans on giving its systems a major makeover, and hopes to complete its modernization by 2020.
The agency said its mortgage-backed securities platform, while reliable, is in need of major upgrades. Some of the plans the company has for its platform include decreasing the costs and risk to the market and the taxpayer, increasing efficiencies, improving the user experience, increasing security and safeguarding the system’s stability.
The company plans to roll out a new issuer portal, MyGinnieMae, as well as introduce a centralized help desk and replace physical authentication tokens with electronic versions for day-to-day system access.
The company explained MyGinnieMae provides enhanced security and a single entry point to all approved applications for each individual user, as well as a user registration and access request process for both the user and the approving authority. The portal will be a one-stop, full-service solution for accessing Ginnie Mae business applications.
Ginnie Mae also announced it will be developing and implementing policies, technologies and operational capabilities necessary to take in digital promissory notes and other digitized loan files.
“While we engage in the technical work necessary to promulgate the standards applicable to electronic closings, digital instruments and electronic vaults, we will also work with the housing programs we support to standardize policies and any other origination requirements for digital mortgages,” the company stated.
Ginnie Mae announced it would work closely with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to utilize their experience with digital mortgages.
“We believe aligning policies across federal housing programs and developing technical standards are foundational steps; they will be our priority during the initial stages of our digital collateral strategy,” Ginnie Mae stated.
In addition to upgrading its systems, Ginnie Mae also announced it plans to enhance its counterparty risk management and upgrade the safeguards against issuer failures.
Ginnie Mae said that as new opportunities arise, it intends to work actively with industry partners to capitalize on these opportunities and continue innovating.
“We aim to explore all avenues for ensuring the MBS program continues to make homeownership a reality for the millions of Americans federal housing programs serve,” the company stated.
