Distressed

Mortgage lenders could benefit from the surge in refinancing due to widening market spreads, and that could help offset damage to servicing rights portfolio valuations, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Any impact from the coronavirus outbreak on commercial and multifamily loan delinquencies won't be known for some time, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities ended 2019 at its lowest point in nearly 11 years, aided by increased issuance and the resolution of legacy transactions, Fitch Ratings said.

The owner of the MacArthur Center Mall in Norfolk, Va., has defaulted on a $750 million loan which includes the property as collateral.

The share of severely underwater mortgages shrunk by over two percentage points compared with a year ago, as these borrowers benefited from the rise in equity levels, Attom Data Solutions said.

GameStop's plan to shutter up to 200 stores could adversely affect commercial mortgage-backed securities loans with a combined allocated property balance of almost $42 million, according to Morningstar Credit Ratings.

Freddie Mac is postponing the date it will make using its Servicing Gateway platform mandatory, and adding new requirements related to chargeoffs and interactions with document custodians.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities sector will weather the fourth quarter's slowing but steady growth in the U.S. economy, as better loan performance counters a continued decline in volume, Morningstar said.

While delinquent loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities continued trending downward overall, there was an uptick in the rate for more recent originations, a Standard & Poor's report noted.

Foreclosure activity fell 21% in July compared to a year ago and rose 6% from June after twelve consecutive months of declines, according to Attom Data Solutions.