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Government National Mortgage Association

The Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), often referred to as "Ginnie Mae" was created in 1968 by the United States federal government through a partition of the Federal National Mortgage Association. The GNMA is a corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development created for the purpose of providing financial assistance to low and moderate income individuals seeking to purchase homes.

The GNMA buys mortgages from lending agencies and sells them as securities to investors. This process serves to allow investors to place money in the mortgage securities market thus increasing the price of mortgage bonds while lowering the rates on mortgages in the primary market - in other words the market on which potential home owners seek mortgage financing.

While GNMA bonds are risk-free from the standpoint of default they carry both an interest rate risk and they are "callable" monthly meaning they can mature suddenly and without warning if the homeowner decides to pay off their loan.

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