Mortgage investor and securitization giant Ginnie Mae issued $39.69bn in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in September, bringing its running 2009 total to $337bn, a 78% increase from $189bn of issuance in the first nine months of 2008. Ginnie’s September issuance slipped 11% from $44.73bn of MBS issued in August. Ginnie Mae I single-family pools accounted for more than 55% — $22bn — of September’s MBS issuance, while Ginnie Mae II single-family pools made up another 43% — $17bn — of monthly issuance. Multifamily issuance came in over $432m. “The continuing surge in the issuance of Ginnie Mae MBS is indicative of the key role that we are playing as the economy struggles to recover,” said Thomas Weakland, Ginnie’s acting executive vice president, in a statement. “Not only are we clearly performing our original mission of expanding affordable housing opportunities for more Americans, we are also expanding sustainable housing opportunities.” Ginnie Mae, which bears the full faith and credit backing of the US government, securitizes mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Write to Diana Golobay.