The Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) reports that issuance for its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) reached $19.19 billion in April 2008, an increase from $6.5 billion in April 2007. This is the highest rate of issuance since September 2003. Issuance for the first four months of 2008 stands at $58.29 billion, compared to $24.8 billion for the same period in 2007.

Ginnie Mae was created in 1968 to expand access to affordable housing opportunities by linking global capital markets to the nation's housing markets, guaranteeing more than $2.6 trillion in MBS, and helping millions of low- and moderate-income Americans achieve their dream of homeownership.

Ginnie Mae is a wholly-owned government corporation within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ginnie Mae pioneered the mortgage-backed security (MBS), guaranteeing the very first security in 1970. A MBS enables a mortgage lender to aggregate and sell mortgage loans as a security to investors. Ginnie Mae securities carry the full faith and credit of the United States Government, which means that, even in difficult times, an investment in Ginnie Mae is one of the safest an investor can make.