Fannie Mae

As financial hardships mount with the COVID-19 outbreak, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released their plans for mortgage borrowers impacted by the pandemic.

FHFA Director Mark Calabria said the health crisis will complicate the release of a proposal establishing new capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A national moratorium would be costly to lenders and servicers, but proponents say it's needed to help cushion the economic blow of the pandemic.

Increased refinancing volume led Fannie Mae to raise its 2020 estimate by $300 billion and 2021 projection by $280 billion.

Companies in the mortgage business were already focused on processing a lot of loans and generating efficiencies before the latest uptick in business hit.

Terry Wakefield, a technology consultant who helped launch Fannie Mae's mortgage-backed securities business and form Prudential Home Mortgage, has died. He was 70.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac coming out of conservatorship and transitioning into public utilities would be the ideal for small mortgage lenders, according to trade-organization representative Robert Zimmer.

Consumer sentiment for home buying stayed near its record high behind low mortgage rates and a strong job market, though the declining stock markets and COVID-19 concerns may change that soon, according to Fannie Mae.

Capacity constraints among mortgage lenders are leading to wider spreads between mortgages and the 10-year Treasury yield even after it remained below 1% for an extended period this week.

Fannie Mae completed its first two Credit Insurance Risk Transfer transactions of 2020, shifting $1 billion of single-family loan credit risk to insurers and reinsurers.