Capital markets

The council created by the Dodd-Frank Act to identify systemic risks launched a review of the market as part of an activities-based approach that shifts focus away from targeting individual firms.

Guarantee fees became the main source of revenue for government-sponsored enterprises during conservatorship, and reverting to a private stockholder model could create a need for more revenue.

Nonbank servicers have been seeking more sources of cash since the coronavirus disrupted markets and elevated forbearance rates. These are some strategies they may be able to use.

Whatever path Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac take, the Mortgage Bankers Association would like to see them preserve many of the changes they made while in government conservatorship.

The leveraged loan market, long favored by private equity firms to fund LBOs, has lagged. The largest buyers of the debt - vehicles known as collateralized loan obligations - are not purchasing as much as they used to as they deal with the wave of downgrades that has hit many of the companies they already hold.

The Federal Housing Administration's move to insure loans with forbearance could help support homeownership opportunities constrained by the coronavirus if one change was made to it, trade groups said.

If delinquency rates rise, all four stand-alone firms would have a capital shortfall.

The new FHFA rule sets a percentage-based threshold to measure compliance, rather than Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.

Steps have been taken to manage coronavirus-related liquidity risks to the housing finance system, but some remain, according to Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Robert Broeksmit.

Aggregate numbers for coronavirus-related payment suspensions are showing more consistency as organizations clarify how they handle them, and some consumers' incentives to use them may be declining.

The coronavirus made it particularly tough for independent contractors and independent business owners to get home mortgages, but there are some signs that market may recover soon.

Sellers are currently willing to concede discounts of around 5%, while bidders are hoping for about 20% off pre-pandemic prices. That estimated gap, which is likely wider in specific cases, has put a freeze on deals.

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.

First Republic is preparing a private-label residential mortgage-backed securities transaction and could be the first bank to launch this type of deal since the coronavirus first roiled U.S. markets in mid-March.

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.

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.

Apollo Global Management Inc. faces the prospect of having to hand back earlier profits from several of its funds as its holdings were hit hard by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index hasn't yet reflected the impact of the coronavirus, but an independent market maker has some thoughts on how it might.

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.