Ginnie Mae is a nickname for the Government National Mortgage Association. It's called Ginnie Mae because when you say the abbreviation GNMA really fast, it sounds sort of similar to Ginnie Mae.

Ginnie Mae does not lend money to people. Ginnie Mae works to make mortgages more attractive to people who are looking for ways to invest their money.

When banks lend people money, the banks have to have a way to get funds. One of the ways they raise money is collecting interest payments. But another way is issuing what's called mortgage-backed securities.

Ginnie Mae takes the securities and combines them in such a way that investors find them to be great ways to invest money. Because investors like them so much, this encourages lenders to lend more people money. And because lenders want to lend more money, more people can get mortgages - even people who might not have otherwise been able to buy a home. You can learn more about Ginnie Mae on its Web site.

Ginnie Mae is a wholly owned federal corporation within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as "HUD." You can learn more about HUD in the Home Zone too. Click here to find out What is HUD?

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