$4.3 billion in rural housing loans with a U.S. Department of Agriculture guaranty were securitized during the first quarter of 2015, down 24.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014. Nearly all of the 10 leading USDA securitizers saw their issuances drop by more than 10 percent quarter over quarter, according to Inside FHA/VA Lending’s analysis of Ginnie Mae data. Stearns Lending reported the largest quarter and yearly declines in the volume of USDA loans securitized by Ginnie, 45.7 percent and 39.1 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the volume of securitized USDA loans rose 2.7 percent year over year. The top USDA loan securitizers, Chase Home Finance and Wells Fargo, led the market with a combined 45.9 percent market share. Chase funneled $1.3 billion in USDA-backed loans into Ginnie mortgage-backed securities while Wells Fargo delivered $621.0 million for securitization. Third-ranked PennyMac closed the quarter with $291.7 million in securitized USDA mortgage loans ... [ 1 chart ]