Alanna McCargo makes history as Ginnie Mae’s first woman president

Alanna McCargo, former senior advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, has become the first woman to head Ginnie Mae after being sworn in by HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.

As the first Senate-confirmed holder of the post in close to five years, McCargo went through a relatively fast confirmation process following her nomination last fall.

The last permanent president, Obama-appointee Ted Tozer, stepped down in January 2017. Tozer was succeeded by two interim presidents, Michael Bright, and later, Maren Kasper. Both left to take private-sector jobs. Longtime staffer Michael Drayne subsequently ran the day-to-day operations of the government mortgage-bond insurer as acting executive vice president until McCargo arrived.

McCargo’s past work experience has put her in touch with the needs of government-related housing agencies, affordable housing advocates, and the mortgage companies that serve as issuers of Ginnie’s securities.

Prior to serving as special adviser to HUD, she worked for the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank known for its research into the affordable housing and racial equity challenges the Biden administration has sought to tackle.

From 2017 to 2019, McCargo was the executive director of the institute's Mortgage Servicing Collaborative, a cross-sector group that made policy recommendations. She has also worked for JPMorgan Chase, Fannie Mae, and, while at the latter, supported Treasury initiatives aimed at housing recovery during the Great Recession.

Her new job will center on sustaining the functioning of the more than $2.13 trillion, global MBS market that Ginnie guarantees and working with other government entities to serve the needs of low-to-moderate income borrowers in the United States.

While other agencies like the Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs are charged with either insuring or guaranteeing the mortgages in Ginnie securitizations at the loan level, the government bond insurer is responsible for making sure the payments involved get passed on to investors even if the mortgage company with that duty fails.

In line with that role, mortgage companies that work with Ginnie Mae will be watching particularly closely to see how she will handle a controversial proposal that would set capital standards for nonbank counterparties.

In general, McCargo indicated that she aims to strike a balance between the need to support Ginnie’s global securities market and domestic housing-finance in her role as head of the HUD affiliate.

“It is an honor to lead Ginnie Mae through its next phase of transformation, ensuring our MBS…support the U.S. mortgage market and…make affordable homeownership and rental housing available for millions of households and our veterans,” she said in a press release.