Coronavirus

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance dropped for the fifth straight week, as the growth rate plummeted 38 basis points between July 6 and July 12, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will extend the same GSE benchmarks of the past three years into 2021.

Mortgages taken out to fund business operations can now be modified in bankruptcy. That’s a relief to borrowers — particularly with business failures expected to increase as the pandemic drags on — but a possible headache for banks and investors that hold the loans.

Ocwen Financial's preliminary second-quarter results put it back in the black, and it is positioning its growing distressed-servicing expertise and pandemic-induced exposures as a net positive.

A strong housing market prior to the pandemic and the subsequent coronavirus-related moratorium helped to pull foreclosure activity down to historic lows in the first half of 2020, though that could all change soon, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Some 60% of Ally’s auto originations in the second quarter were used-vehicle loans, the highest percentage in the company's history.

The coronavirus relief law allows forbearance plans for up to a year on federally backed mortgages, but House Democrats say homeowners have had difficulty getting relief.

Bankers had asserted in April that they could handle a slump in oil prices tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Continued volatility, combined with declining collateral values and a rise in bankruptcies for exploration companies, is denting their confidence.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance fell for the fourth consecutive week, as the growth rate plummeted 21 basis points between June 29 and July 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The amount far surpassed that of any other servicer required to purchase Ginnie Mae-backed loans that were 90 days past due.