Coronavirus

Investors are looking past signs of weakness and toward an eventual recovery, but top executives at BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and other financial firms remain cautious as many cities and states remain in partial lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The congressional showdown over the pace of rulemaking during the pandemic is a hardening of older positions on banking policy ahead of the 2020 elections, observers said.

The economic contraction caused by the coronavirus pandemic has been worse than the Wall Street firm had modeled two months ago, its president John Waldron said Wednesday.

The best outcome for creditors and ABS noteholders with approximately $6 billion in outstanding bonds is likely to be through a renewal of Hertz’s operations, rather than liquidation, according to analysis from the ratings agency.

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.

The company is looking to sell $1.1 billion of junk bonds secured by marquee properties including its State Street store in Chicago. The retailer is also setting up a line of credit worth about $3 billion, backed by its unsold goods

Forecasts about the pandemic's impact on the mortgage market have grown less dire after forbearance requests by homeowners nearly leveled off in the first half of May.

Some cities saw drops in annual housing supply nearing 40% in early May, according to Zillow.

Loans with coronavirus-related forbearance have to be reported as current to the credit bureaus but there’s a ripple effect from them that has implications for credit reports and underwriting.

A Democratic measure to freeze foreclosures and auto repossessions through the coronavirus crisis while expanding eligibility for loan forbearance is getting strong pushback from banks and credit unions, which complain it would constrain credit.

With mortgage rates reaching all-time lows in the opening quarter, refinance originations were up in 97% of housing markets during 1Q, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Progress Residential is bringing its next securitization of single-family rental properties to market, even as concerns mount on the depth of pandemic-driven tenant forbearance and delinquency trends.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency clarified that borrowers with Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgages who have entered into forbearance plans can be eligible for a refi or new purchase once they are considered “current” on their mortgage.

Total forbearance driven by the coronavirus rose by 25 basis points, which suggests it is still growing but at a slowing pace, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

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.

The central bank's Financial Stability Report said companies may face difficulties repaying debt given lower earnings, “which could trigger a sizable increase in firm defaults."

The agency's announcement came one day after the agency said it would provide borrowers struggling to stay current with an additional payment deferral option.

Eligible borrowers can add the forborne payments to the end of their loan term.

The head of the U.S. central bank said its emergency credit programs were not designed to prop businesses up over the long term.