Ginnie Mae

Total forbearance driven by the coronavirus rose by 25 basis points, which suggests it is still growing but at a slowing pace, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Ginnie Mae is offering temporary relief related to its acceptable delinquency-rate threshold in response to issuers' need to fulfill the forbearance requirements in the coronavirus rescue package.

The total coronavirus-related mortgages in forbearance grew by 55 basis points, in lockstep with rising unemployment claims, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

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 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.

Ginnie Mae will begin taking requests for assistance from issuers who, having exhausted all other options, are having trouble advancing borrowers' principal-and-interest payments to investors amid the pandemic.

Mark Calabria needs to be working to secure a Fed facility for servicer advances and to support, not denigrate, smaller servicers, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The share of borrowers seeking payment relief rose more than tenfold as COVID-19 concerns grew and authorities encouraged the practice, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.