CARES Act

The number of grievances about evictions and federal student loans declined between January 2020 and May 2021. Nonetheless, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned financial firms that poor customer service can undermine government efforts to provide aid.

Most of the activity covered vacant and abandoned properties or commercial loans, according to Attom Data Solutions.

The development bodes well for outcomes on distressed loans backed by major government-related mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The agency will allow an additional three months of forbearance for multifamily property loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as long as tenant protections are offered.

The agency will allow an additional three months of forbearance for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giving homeowners up to 18 months to suspend payments due to the pandemic.

Both in terms of interest expense and the sheer cost of dealing with consumers, the mortgage industry is out hundreds of millions of dollars due to this unfunded mandate from Congress, analyst Chris Whalen says.

The CARES Act-related forbearances could be “lulling us into a false sense of security” as 12-month expirations approach, according to Black Knight.

The Georgia runoffs and resulting balance of power in Congress will help determine which bills on bankers’ wish list gain traction. But regardless, existing coronavirus relief such as the Paycheck Protection Program and a push for more economic aid will remain top of mind for lawmakers and the industry.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin approved the extension of the Main Street Lending Program, which offers loans to midsize companies affected by the pandemic, to Jan. 8.

The Pennsylvania senator, who will chair the Banking Committee if Republicans hold their majority, agreed to modify an amendment restricting the Federal Reserve’s emergency powers that Democrats had criticized as too extreme.

The Federal Reserve has already agreed to shut down emergency credit programs funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, but Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and others want Congress to ensure the central bank cannot revive them.

The extension of the FHA’s willingness to conditionally endorse loans with suspended payments came amid a renewed push by public and private entities to spread awareness of the CARES Act option.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called on the Federal Reserve Thursday to let several of its emergency lending facilities expire at yearend and return unused funds provided by Congress. But the central bank wants the programs to continue.

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.

The forbearance rate improved to the a level not seen since early April, but getting back to pre-COVID levels will require employment gains or additional government stimulus measures, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

How we resolve millions of delinquent mortgages due to COVID is the only question that matters.

A booming housing market contrasts with a slow-to-improve job market, making for lopsided improvement in the number of troubled mortgages, according to numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

As of the end of July, there were more than 1 million past-due mortgages not in forbearance plans, and the majority likely would have qualified for forbearance under the CARES Act.

A total of 34 states have offered coronavirus-related rental or mortgage assistance, much of which is funded by the CARES Act, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

The overall forbearance rate was under 6% for the first time since April as another large swath of loans fell out of CARES Act coverage, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.