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Document Custodians

Document custodians play an important role in the Ginnie Mae process.

A document custodian must hold documents related to the pooled mortgages on Ginnie Mae's behalf for the life of the pool or loan package. Prior to submission of a pool or loan package for processing, it is the issuer's responsibility to select an eligible institution to serve as document custodian. Appendix V of the Ginnie Mae MBS Guide contains eligibility requirement information for document custodians.

The document custodian works directly under the issuer. While an issuer may use different document custodians for different pools or loan packages, each pool or loan package must have only one document custodian.

 

Eligibility Requirements

Document custodians must:

  1. Be financial institutions regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) or a Federal Home Loan Bank.
  2. Maintain physically secure, minimum 1-1/2 hour fire resistant storage facilities.
  3. Employ personnel knowledgeable in the handling of mortgage documents and about the roles mortgage document custodians play.
  4. Meet minimum Ginnie Mae financial requirements.
  5. Maintain minimum insurance coverage requirements.
  6. Establish and follow written procedures relating to its responsibilities as document custodian.
  7. Comply with other requirements as needed.

 

Overview of Document Custodian Responsibilities

The custodian must enter into a Master Custodial Agreement (form HUD 11715) (PDF) with each issuer for which it serves as document custodian. Renewal Master Agreements must be submitted by January 1 every year to the Pool Processing Agent (PPA) – the institution that reviews pool and loan package document submissions prior to the issuance of Ginnie Mae securities. The PPA also maintains records of final certifications.

The document custodian certifies the complete and accurate representation of the documents within its control.

Under the terms of the Master Custodial Agreement, documents may be released to the issuer from time to time in connection with servicing. Only the issuer may request the release of documents. Issuers are authorized to request documents from the document custodian only if they are necessary in carrying out servicing actions. Ginnie Mae must approve bulk releases of documents for an entire pool or loan package.

Any routine reviews of custodial documents by the issuer's auditors or staff must be conducted on the premises of the document custodian.

The document custodian must maintain control of loan documents for the life of the pool or loan package.

 

Related-Party Document Custodians

Related-party document custodians, defined as either the issuer acting as the document custodian (self-custody) or an affiliate of the issuer acting as the document custodian, are subject to additional requirements. These requirements include:

  1. Self-custody:

    The institution must maintain custody of Ginnie Mae documents in a trust department physically separate from the servicing area. The trust must also maintain separate personnel, files and operations.

    The institution must obtain prior approval from its primary regulator to exercise fiduciary powers, which include ordinary trust services, such as personal trust services, personal representative services (executor), guardianship, custodian services and/or investment advisory services offered to the public. The fiduciary powers may not be limited to maintaining custody of documents for Ginnie Mae issuers.

  2. Affiliated document custodian:

    An institution must either (a) meet all of the requirements of Section 13-2(A) (PDF) of the Ginnie Mae Guide 5500.3 and maintain custody of the Ginnie Mae documents in a separate trust department or, (b) if Ginnie Mae documents are not maintained in a separate trust department, provide evidence satisfactory to Ginnie Mae that the issuer and the affiliated custodian are vertically independent.

The document custodian function must be subject to periodic review and inspection by the primary regulator.

 

Document Custodian Identification Number

Before executing a Master Custodial Agreement, an institution must obtain a Ginnie Mae document custodian identification number as specified in Chapter 2-E (PDF) of the Document Custodian Manual (Appendix V-1) (PDF) of the Ginnie Mae Guide. The identification number must be placed on all documents on which the document custodian's name appears.

For more detailed information on a document custodian's roles and responsibilities, or on becoming a document custodian, please refer to the Ginnie Mae Guide.

For questions contact Ginnie Mae's Document Custodian hotline 1-888-GINNIE4.

 
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