Compliance & Regulation

Homeowners reeling from coronavirus-induced economic shock are already enduring extremely long wait times while trying to get relief. Legislation passed last week could worsen the logjams.

One of the largest U.S. mortgage firms catering to riskier borrowers slashed 70% of its workforce, signaling a deep slowdown in that business.

Two Harbors, a real estate investment trust, sold the bulk of its nonagency mortgage-backed securities portfolio to head off margin calls and refocus on its more favorable agency-MBS investments.

The reprieve from mortgage data collection was among several changes to the agency’s supervisory and enforcement procedures to help firms responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As real estate prices soared in recent years, working-class adults everywhere have increasingly relied on mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration — and U.S. taxpayers.

The $2 trillion deal passed by the Senate late Wednesday would aim to put banks and consumers alike on stronger financial footing as they weather the coronavirus pandemic.

The regulation issued late on Tuesday directs state-regulated financial institutions to give mortgage borrowers at least 90 days of forbearance if they can show financial hardship resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. It also requires banks and credit unions to provide relief on ATM fees and credit card late payment fees.

The central bank's sweeping actions suggest a cash shortage gripping sectors directly hit by the pandemic. Banks were supposed to be protected by Dodd-Frank but are still vulnerable to a funding domino effect.

Flagstar Bancorp, one of the nation's biggest lenders to mortgage providers, has stopped funding most new home loans without government backing.

With increased economic distress because of the coronavirus, lenders are likely to see an increase of borrowers looking for a mortgage rescission, arguing they are eligible for an extended filing time frame.