Coronavirus

The Biden administration once again extended the pause on student loan payments enacted to help borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic, this time through the end of August.

The two states' combined plans amount to over $1.5 billion of the Homeowner Assistance Fund included within the American Rescue Plan Act , which was passed a year ago.

An uptick in pandemic-related payment suspensions reflecting new or restarted plan activity previously occurred as the omicron variant spread, but activity has since subsided.

Despite the rising number of COVID infections, investors made no moves that would apply downward pressure.

Mortgage performance in November was improving, coming close to crossing a key threshold for pandemic-era recovery, but Omicron raises questions about whether that trend will continue.

However, the serious delinquency rate dropped to a point significantly below the market-wide average, and much of the foreclosure activity allowed to proceed did so with new consumer protections in place.

With resources provided through the Homeowner Assistance Fund, the $1 billion plan will help cover homeowners’ past-due payments and comes after New York unveiled a similar assistance package earlier this month.

About 400,000 plans are scheduled to drop out in September based on the limits afforded by the CARES Act.

The agency’s new chief said eliminating the “adverse market fee” — in place since December — will make it easier for families to refinance while mortgage rates are still low.

High-quality fully amortizing residential mortgages collateralize deal underwritten by Bank of America.

Only 0.9% of mortgage borrowers are currently at least 90 days delinquent. That figure could rise as high as 3.8% once pandemic-related deferrals lapse — still well below the 6% mark reached after the Great Recession, according to research by the New York Fed.

By purchasing additional assets and securities, the Federal Reserve provided the financial markets with enough liquidity to weather the pandemic recession. But with the economy starting to recover, it needs to reduce such funding before it creates dangerous bubbles over the long term, say two former bankers.

Credit investors are stepping into a void left by banks and insurance companies and providing debt financing for top-quality hotels in a bet on a post-pandemic recovery, according to a report from the real estate services firm JLL.

In an analysis of the pandemic's impact on the housing market, the agency said nearly 10% of households could be at risk of eviction or foreclosure despite government programs to enable homeowners to delay their payments.

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.

Homeowners still deferring payments on federally backed loans as of Feb. 28 will be permitted to request an additional three months of relief.

Dave Uejio, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, promised to protect veterans from predatory loans and to crack down on companies that improperly garnish stimulus checks or mistreat struggling borrowers.

Investors were also reacting to the inauguration of Joe Biden and uncertainty over additional fiscal relief, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Sam Khater said.

U.S. credit card delinquencies reached record-low levels in 2020, as Americans took advantage of stimulus checks and adjusted their spending habits, according to a new report.

Federal relief efforts have minimized loan losses so far, but risks remain in credit card, auto and business lending. Many borrowers will need another lifeline to stay afloat until the economy rebounds, CEO Jamie Dimon says.