Freddie Mac

Surging unemployment from COVID-19 shutdowns brought a rapidly rising tide of forbearance requests, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal backing for firms facing a deluge of missed mortgage payments is still on the table despite recent comments by an official who questioned the need to help the industry.

The Borrower Protection Program enables the two agencies to exchange information about loss mitigation efforts and consumer complaints regarding specific servicers.

The volume of COVID-19 forbearance requests has risen rapidly as operational processing has improved and hold times have contracted, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Tenants have threatened to suspend payments during the pandemic to pressure officials into providing rental assistance, but the effects on multifamily loans would compound concerns about servicers' liquidity and, ultimately, lenders' performance.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Treasury secretary that the Financial Stability Oversight Council should create a liquidity facility to deal with a flood of forbearance requests brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ginnie Mae and the FHA provided temporary liquidity relief for mortgage servicers bracing for higher delinquencies, but the industry continues to pressure Treasury and the Fed to provide more comprehensive support.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria said a virus-induced financial crisis might give rise to more delinquencies and foreclosures than the 2007 subprime mortgage meltdown.

With economists fearing high unemployment stemming from the pandemic, the housing finance system is grappling with how it will recoup lost revenue from delinquencies, forbearance plans and other tremors.

Mark Calabria said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are currently equipped to handle elevated delinquencies, but they might need congressional or Federal Reserve help if fallout from the coronavirus persists.

FHFA Director Mark Calabria said the health crisis will complicate the release of a proposal establishing new capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac coming out of conservatorship and transitioning into public utilities would be the ideal for small mortgage lenders, according to trade-organization representative Robert Zimmer.

Any impact from the coronavirus outbreak on commercial and multifamily loan delinquencies won't be known for some time, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Freddie Mac saw a decline in net profit in 2019 due to decreased interest rate income, lower amortization revenue and risk-reducing investment costs, but its consecutive-quarter results improved.

Fannie Mae identified the adoption of hedge accounting and regular issuance of multifamily Connecticut Avenue Securities deals as among strategies it could continue to pursue while navigating regulatory uncertainties and change.

Five MBS pools of predominantly non-QM mortgages have been launched into the market by originators and loan aggregators, according to ratings agency presale reports published since Monday.

The unsuccessful scheme has become the focus of a legal battle involving two former Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco employees against that government-sponsored enterprise, which fired them in 2018.

The biggest issuers of bonds tied to the benchmark tapped to replace U.S. dollar Libor are suddenly pulling back, a potential blow to efforts by regulators to wean the financial system off a much-maligned reference rate.

The government-sponsored enterprises’ plan to cease accepting loans pegged to the London interbank offered rate a year ahead of its scheduled expiration is expected to hasten action in securitized markets.

With policymakers focused on ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservatorship, their regulator is reorganizing key units and adding staff to position itself for the long term.