Coronavirus

The mortgage giants were criticized earlier this month for a plan to charge an "adverse market fee" to protect against losses resulting from the pandemic.

While cutting losers to buy winners is an age-old investment proposition, the Covid-19 pandemic may create even more openings than the past crises that became bonanzas for real estate investors.

Lenders initially won't be able to pass on the cost of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's "adverse market fee" to borrowers whose rates on GSE-backed mortgages and refinances are already locked in.

Banks and other lenders have found a way to potentially make billions of dollars from the coronavirus-fueled upheaval in the U.S. mortgage market — yet it risks burning bond investors in the process.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the proposal would increase access to credit, but consumer groups argue that it will encourage lenders to make high-cost loans while protecting them from legal liability.

For the second consecutive month, the average extension rate in June for troubled loans due to pandemic-related stresses on borrowers shrank in both prime and subprime loan sectors.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance decreased for the ninth consecutive week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Dana Wade, a former OMB official, says a strong capital footing will help the Federal Housing Administration weather an uptick in delinquencies and ensure the mortgage market is viable once the economy recovers.

A pioneer in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market argues the HOPE Act would bail out savvy investors who don't deserve it. Barclays predicts that kind of attitude will make passage difficult.

With the moratorium still in place, mortgage foreclosure activity fell 83% in July compared to the year before and 4% from June, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Borrowers will likely have to put more assets on the line to get forbearance extensions.

But the 30-year fixed remains below 3%, which should continue to support increased demand.

The new “adverse market fee” for refinanced mortgages resembles steps the companies took to combat the 2008 mortgage crisis. But critics charge it isn’t necessary and will hurt borrowers’ ability to tap into low rates.

A survey conducted throughout the second quarter found knowledge gaps based on race and income.

The $500 million OneMain Financial Issuance Trust 2020-2 has triple-A senior-note ratings from three agencies, even as the economic upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic has prompted particular concerns about the risks in the lender’s key market of unsecured, subprime consumer loans.

San Francisco-based Theorem is marketing its first-ever securitization of online, unsecured consumer loans culled from the LendingClub origination platform using machine-learning technology.

Though overall forbearance share is down, the number of extensions is rising as coronavirus hardship filings surpass the 90-day mark that delineates the end of traditional forbearance plans.

Conditions have improved for the first time since November.

The Fed's TALF program to support AAA-rated ABS securities issuance continues to resonate in the prime auto securitization space.

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.