Fannie Mae

Forbearance rates dropped below 7% for the first time in six months, but the decrease is largely due to the ending of the initial six-month term of forbearance granted by the legislation, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

HSBC, Bank of the West and Fannie Mae are among those offering green mortgage bonds, financing commercial clients’ efforts to rein in carbon emissions and developing other novel products that help customers tackle environmental challenges.

GSE mortgages in forbearance fell for the 17th straight week, spearheading the overall downtrend, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council said the mortgage giants may need a bigger capital cushion than their regulator has proposed, but stopped short of designating them as “systemically important financial institutions.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been slammed for planning an additional refinancing charge to cover COVID-related losses, but the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency defended the policy in House testimony.

Low rates, along with increased new and existing home sales activity drives the latest forecast.

After flattening over the three prior weeks, the number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance dove at a rate not seen since early August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"The current economic crisis continues to disproportionately impact borrowers with FHA and VA loans," said Mike Fratantoni, the MBA's senior vice president and chief economist.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's proposal could undermine the companies’ mission to support the housing market and penalize consumers in underserved communities, industry and consumer groups say.

The agency’s plan to extend the "qualified mortgage" stamp of approval to more loans could help lenders that rely on alternative data and cushion the blow of other QM changes for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.