Mortgages

Mortgage rates fell to their lowest level since Freddie Mac started reporting this data in 1971, as the coronavirus shutdown continued to play havoc with the economy.

Mounting economic fallout from the pandemic is fueling apartment landlords' concerns that more tenants will struggle to make their rent payments, even after most managed to come up with the money for April.

The bureau issued an interpretive rule clarifying that consumers under certain conditions can modify or waive waiting periods required by the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

The coronavirus disruption caused March's pending home sales to fall and the losses will reverberate through the rest of 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's chief operating officer will take a similar position at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, fulfilling one of the multiple recruiting goals the FHFA announced in January.

The government-sponsored enterprises are focusing on how loans can be repaid after the federal forbearance period ends, and projections for loan modification volumes suggest the larger industry should, too.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now able to buy loans in forbearance to alleviate pressure on the sector, but the fees charged by the mortgage giants to assume more risk could turn away some originators.

Is JPMorgan Chase an outlier or the canary in the coal mine when it comes to home equity lending during the coronavirus spread?

Correspondent loan sellers are hoping the new GSE purchases will help to open a market frozen by coronavirus-related risk — but the prices offered so far aren't too promising.

The Treasury secretary said recent government moves will help the firms get through the risk of millions of borrowers missing their loan payments.

The bipartisan coalition of AGs said homeowners should be allowed to wait until the end of a loan term to make payments they skipped because of the coronavirus.

More than a dozen firms have struck agreements with nine states to provide forbearance to customers struggling to make payments in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The FHFA will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for a limited time, to purchase loans for which the borrower has sought to postpone payments because of the economic effects of the coronavirus.

Efforts to calm lenders’ fears about coronavirus-related forbearance may not offset tightening standards, and the FHA is less likely to boost volume than it was during the financial crisis.

The agency said it is aligning policies for Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans in forbearance so that servicers are only responsible for advancing four months of missed payments.

Surging unemployment from COVID-19 shutdowns brought a rapidly rising tide of forbearance requests, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal backing for firms facing a deluge of missed mortgage payments is still on the table despite recent comments by an official who questioned the need to help the industry.

The move is part of an effort by CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger to help smaller lenders by significantly raising loan thresholds for collecting and reporting mortgage data.

The letter written by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was seen as a boost to Wall Street lobbying efforts seeking to quell the fallout of the coronavirus crisis on the mortgage market.

The agency is still moving forward on key regulations dealing with payday lending and mortgage underwriting despite new demands posed by the crisis.