Finance

Mortgage bankers are sounding alarms that the Federal Reserve's emergency purchases of bonds tied to home loans are unintentionally putting their industry at risk by triggering a flood of margin calls on hedges lenders have entered into to protect themselves from losses.

Some corporations are willing to oblige, turning instead to new, pricier term loans or revolving credit lines rather than tapping existing ones, industry officials say.

Tom Barrack, who a week ago warned that commercial real estate financing was on the brink of collapse because of the coronavirus pandemic, is now calling for a moratorium on margin calls and intervention by the Federal Reserve to keep values of mortgage debt from plummeting further.

The impending wave of loan delinquencies because of the coronavirus hurt private mortgage insurer earnings, but the companies will still have sufficient capital, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report said.

Two Harbors, a real estate investment trust, sold the bulk of its nonagency mortgage-backed securities portfolio to head off margin calls and refocus on its more favorable agency-MBS investments.

While analysts agree banks are in better shape than in 2008, lawmakers are dusting off a crisis-era tool used by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to soothe potential liquidity fears during the coronavirus pandemic.

The ratings agency on Wednesday placed whole-business securitizations from Applebee's/IHOP, TGI Friday's and Planet Fitness under review for potential downgrades.

Dramatic Fed intervention may steady some markets, but unless something changes — and, judging by the last two weeks, it very well could — the central bank won’t be there to save fallen angels. Which brave investors will step up?

FirstKey's securitization of well-seasoned, reperforming loans is the second such transaction in a week — amid an otherwise barren securitization market ground to a halt from the coronavirus crisis.

The central bank's sweeping actions suggest a cash shortage gripping sectors directly hit by the pandemic. Banks were supposed to be protected by Dodd-Frank but are still vulnerable to a funding domino effect.

Real estate investor Tom Barrack said predicted a “domino effect” of catastrophic economic consequences if banks and government don’t take prompt action to keep commercial mortgage borrowers from defaulting.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency authorized the government-sponsored enterprises to lend additional support to the mortgage-backed securities market and temporarily allow some flexibility in lending requirements to address coronavirus-related concerns.

The Federal Reserve committed Monday to conducting more asset purchases of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities and announced $300 billion in new financing for credit facilities.

One option could be issuing an announcement that makes clear regulators won’t likely object to risky funding arrangements that they’ve previously frowned upon, said the person who requested anonymity because the discussions might not lead to any actions.

Additional mortgage-backed securities purchases by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will address private investor skittishness about the asset class, but it will not necessarily lower rates.

The credit watch involves single-borrower securitizations of commercial mortgages for high-priced resorts in Florida and Hawaii.

Oaktree Capital Management LLC is planning a new distressed debt fund as recent credit market turmoil throws up investment opportunities.

While collapsing market prices do not present immediate worries for CLO managers, the prospect of future downgrades and defaults becomes more problematic.

Although its share price has plunged alongside other mortgage REIT players during the coronavirus crisis, Chimera Investment Corp. (NYSE: CIM) this month is offering a vote in confidence in itself and its market.

A large percentage of Institutional investors lack confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to contain and eradicate the coronavirus outbreak. But few have plans to pull capital out of specific geographic regions due to the pandemic.