President Biden has nominated Alanna McCargo, Senior Advisor for Housing Finance in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to be President of Ginnie Mae.
It has been about four years since Ginnie Mae [1]—which serves as the principal financing arm for government mortgage loans, ensuring that mortgage lenders have the necessary funds to provide loans to borrowers—has had a permanent leader.
McCargo's career in housing spans decades during which she has concentrated on understanding, through data and analysis, how to create a more equitable housing finance system, according to a White House Fact Sheet [2] announcing the nomination.
She joined the Biden-Harris Administration after serving as VP of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where she developed a body of work focused on reducing racial homeownership gaps, increasing housing affordability, and reducing barriers to accessing homeownership opportunities.
Ed Delgado, Managing Director, MPA; Chairman, Five Star Global—parent company of DS News and MReport—commented on the nomination.
"I have had the privilege of working with Alanna McCargo for more than a decade. She is an insightful and dynamic leader who is a guardian for homeownership and our nation's housing system," Delgado said.
President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Robert D. Broeksmit also applauded the decision.
"Ginnie Mae is a critically important agency in our housing finance system, and Alanna has a deep understanding of the agency and a demonstrated track record of working with industry, government, and housing advocates on key housing policy issues," Broeksmit said.
"MBA looks forward to working with her, and other senior staff at Ginnie Mae, on ways to enhance liquidity for Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities and help make affordable residential and rental housing a reality for millions of low- and moderate-income households by channeling global capital into the nation's housing markets."
National Housing Conference President and CEO David Dworkin calls McCargo "a major thought leader in the full range of home mortgage lending policy making."
He added, "She has decades of experience working with a broad range of stakeholders including investors in government securities, mortgage loan servicers, and FHA-financed homeowners. She has a deep understanding of the business imperatives and is committed to ensuring that these needs also meet the needs of the FHA’s diverse borrower base."
McCargo also has held roles at CoreLogic and with JP Morgan Chase’s Home Lending division. She spent 10 years at Fannie Mae, where she led policy development and secondary mortgage market programs. From 2008-2012 she played a central role in the partnership with the Treasury in executing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
The White House also stated that McCargo has been instrumental in foreclosure prevention efforts, loan restructuring, and distressed asset management programs.