Secondary markets

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.

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.

Many originators stopped making riskier products, including jumbo loans and low credit score offerings, during April.

The government-sponsored enterprises have set new temporary limits on mortgage sales while extending processing flexibilities related to COVID-19.

Some benefits are materializing from Fannie Mae's pledge to limit servicers' exposure to principal-and-interest advances the way Freddie Mac does, but counterparties of both GSEs remain exposed to other concerns.

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.

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.

Declines in mortgage servicing rights valuations at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo point to the resurgence of a dilemma that came up during the last downturn.

Lenders that split their sales of loans and servicing between two different investors may be facing yet another challenge due to the coronavirus outbreak.