Freddie Mac

Despite mortgage rates expected to rise modestly in 2021, a bolstered Biden administration stimulus package and COVID-19 vaccination efforts bring promise for economic recovery.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of Jan.7-14

Mortgage rates, whose movements until now had not reflected gains in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, rose 14 basis points this week, according to Freddie Mac.

The agency's request for input will shape how mortgages underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac handle appraisals and curb risk.

Mortgage rates yet again have dropped to a record low, even as the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury flirts with breaking back above the 1% mark, according to Freddie Mac.

The proposal would require the government-sponsored enterprises to craft resolution plans similar to regulations imposed on the largest U.S. banks.

Many have assumed the high court would rule that presidents can fire the Federal Housing Finance Agency director at will. But during oral arguments in a case challenging the agency’s structure, some justices suggested they could stop short of such a decision.

Weaker consumer spending data coming into the holiday season, as well as a resurgence of the COVID-19 spread, pushed mortgage rates to a new low, Freddie Mac said.

A Freddie Mac study of loans in forbearance from 2017 and 2020 found that, over both periods, borrowers had low credit scores and high debt-to-income ratios.

There have been several extensions of the policy since it was put into place as a way to sustain originations amid a wave of forbearance allocated to borrowers with government-related loans.