The Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA, also
known as Ginnie Mae) is a U.S. government-owned corporation
within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Ginnie Mae provides guarantees on mortgage-backed securities
(MBS) backed by federally insured or guaranteed loans, mainly
loans issued by the Federal Housing Administration, Department
of Veterans Affairs, Rural Housing Service, and Office of
Public and Indian Housing. Ginnie Mae securities are the only
MBS that are guaranteed by the United States government.
The GNMA was created by the United States Federal Government
through a 1968 partition of the Federal National Mortgage
Association. As with other government sponsored enterprises,
Ginnie Mae uses a creative acronym of the company's full name,
adopted officially for ease of identification.