Reagan OKs Bill Raising Credit Ceilings for FHA, Ginnie Mae

President Reagan, halfway around the world from Washington on Friday, signed into law emergency legislation that revives the activities of two government agencies that are major sources of home mortgage credit.

The bill, which Reagan signed just hours after arriving in Tokyo for the economic summit, extends the depleted credit authority of the Federal Housing Administration.

It also replenishes the exhausted commitment authority of the Government National Mortgage Assn., or Ginnie Mae, to guarantee the prompt payment of securities backed by government-insured mortgages.

The legislation enables the FHA, which hit its $57.4-billion credit ceiling Tuesday, to again accept applications for government-insured mortgages. It raises the FHA’s credit ceiling $17 billion and extends the agency’s authority to insure mortgages to June 6. The FHA had stopped accepting mortgage applications Wednesday.

The measure also raises Ginnie Mae’s commitment ceiling to $125 billion. The rush to refinance home mortgages at lower interest rates caused Ginnie Mae to reach its $65.3-billion commitment limit April 4.