Fannie Mae

The forbearance rate improved to the a level not seen since early April, but getting back to pre-COVID levels will require employment gains or additional government stimulus measures, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But both fell short under the Duty to Serve goals in rural housing.

Also: Fannie Mae announces imminent implementation of hedge accounting.

The upcoming shift may help to prepare the government-sponsored enterprise for a conservatorship exit by reducing interest-rate volatility in Fannie’s earnings.

A booming housing market contrasts with a slow-to-improve job market, making for lopsided improvement in the number of troubled mortgages, according to numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Existing-home sales reach 14-year high as bidding wars increase across the country.

To continue providing liquidity for lenders, Fannie Mae lengthened the period in which it would continue the purchase of forborne mortgages and pools of mortgage-backed securities into 2021.

Leadership from those entities confirmed this week that they will move forward with a plan to add a controversial 50-basis-point charge for refinancing.

The agency confirmed that loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can continue avoiding debt-to-income limits as the bureau completes a revamp of the Qualified Mortgage standard.

Johnson led Fannie in the 1990s and played an advisory role in President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.