GSEs

Rick Thornberry is looking to the lessons from the Great Recession and applying them to current conditions.

Many originators stopped making riskier products, including jumbo loans and low credit score offerings, during April.

The government-sponsored enterprises have set new temporary limits on mortgage sales while extending processing flexibilities related to COVID-19.

The other parts of the Day 1 Certainty program regarding income and asset verifications remain in effect.

Some benefits are materializing from Fannie Mae's pledge to limit servicers' exposure to principal-and-interest advances the way Freddie Mac does, but counterparties of both GSEs remain exposed to other concerns.

While Freddie Mac stabilized liquidity in mortgage markets, coronavirus-related credit losses drove the GSE's income down in the first quarter of 2020.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's chief operating officer will take a similar position at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, fulfilling one of the multiple recruiting goals the FHFA announced in January.

The government-sponsored enterprises are focusing on how loans can be repaid after the federal forbearance period ends, and projections for loan modification volumes suggest the larger industry should, too.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now able to buy loans in forbearance to alleviate pressure on the sector, but the fees charged by the mortgage giants to assume more risk could turn away some originators.

Correspondent loan sellers are hoping the new GSE purchases will help to open a market frozen by coronavirus-related risk — but the prices offered so far aren't too promising.