Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo announced her intent to
resign from public office after more than three years with the Biden-Harris
administration and 25 years in housing finance. Her resignation will become
effective May 3.
McCargo has served in the Biden-Harris administration since
January 2021, first as the senior advisor for housing finance in the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under former Secretary Marcia
Fudge. She was later nominated by President Joe Biden to lead Ginnie Mae and
received bipartisan Senate approval.
Not only was McCargo the first woman to lead Ginnie Mae, she
was also the first woman of color to do so. She referred to her 3.5 years with
the administration as “the most important and fulfilling” of her career.
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve my
country and advance a bold housing agenda across the globe as president of
Ginnie Mae,” McCargo said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of what we
have accomplished together and grateful for the housing leadership this administration
and agency have demonstrated since our first day in office. This has been a
deeply personal decision to return to private life.”
McCargo recognized her colleagues who contributed to the
company’s accomplishments under her leadership of the mortgage company, which
oversees $2.5 trillion in government-backed loans in the secondary market.
“I am pleased with the progress and accomplishments Ginnie
Mae has achieved during my tenure, the precision with which the team executes
on our obligations and authorities, and the groundwork that we have laid for
Ginnie Mae to grow and build the capacity needed to meet its crucial affordable
housing and capital markets mission on behalf of the United States government,”
she added.
Ginnie Mae Principal Executive Vice President Sam Valverde
will serve as the organization’s acting president upon McCargo’s departure. Valverde
has served alongside McCargo for the past two years, spearheading work in the
global investment community to expand the value proposition of Ginnie Mae’s
mortgage-backed securities program, in addition to his involvement in other
initiatives.
Laura Kenney, senior advisor for strategic operations and
interim chief operating officer for Ginnie Mae, will assume additional
responsibilities as part of the leadership transition.
“I have complete confidence in Sam and Laura and the entire
career executive leadership team to continue to provide leadership continuity
and to execute the ongoing priorities that Ginnie Mae has worked on during my
tenure,” McCargo said.
HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman expressed gratitude for
McCargo’s service and leadership in a statement.
“I thank President McCargo for her service to our country
and at HUD. In her time at the agency, she has been a zealous advocate for
housing affordability and ensuring a more equitable housing finance system,”
Todman said. “As president of Ginnie Mae, Alanna has helped expand Ginnie Mae’s
reach in serving historically underserved communities and has been a champion
for advancing market-driven initiatives that support mortgage programs across
the government. It has been a joy to work with President McCargo. I am proud to
say that she has left Ginnie Mae stronger than when she arrived, and her tenure
sets a high standard for servant leadership.”
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO
Bob Broeksmit praised McCargo’s work in a statement thanking her for her
leadership in “advancing affordable housing initiatives and improving the
function of capital markets.”
“We commend President McCargo and her staff for their
contributions on numerous issues, including supporting mortgage servicers in
their commitment to helping struggling homeowners enter and exit COVID-19
forbearance programs, investing in technology to improve the experience for
issuers, and enhancing liquidity for Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities,” he
added.
Broeksmit noted that MBA looks forward to continuing to work
with Valverde on policies and programs intended to help increase mortgage
market liquidity and support affordable homeownership and rental housing.
A few reports noted McCargo’s exit has occurred just weeks
after a federal district court in Texas dismissed only part of a case against
Ginnie Mae accusing the entity of inducing plaintiff Texas Capital Bank (TCB)
to lend millions to a national home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) lender,
consented to TCB’s “first priority, perfected lien” on certain HECM collateral,
then declared the lien null.
TCB brought claims stating Ginnie Mae violated the
Administrative Procedures Act (APA), created “liability for promissory estoppel
given the agency’s stark breach” of its word, and by nullifying the lien,
executed “tortious interference with property rights.”
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk dismissed TCB’s
arbitrary and capricious claim, as well as its promissory estoppel claim, but
allowed the “excess of authority” argument under the APA to continue on. TCB’s
claim of tortious interference with property rights also survived, as the court
determined the bank had met the pleading standards at this stage of the
proceedings.