Finance

Borrowers gained over $6 trillion in home equity since the Great Recession ended and the relative health of the housing market should stave off a coronavirus-induced collapse, according to CoreLogic.

The expected rise in refinance volume overrides pessimism about purchase activity for their businesses.

Mortgage rates increased slightly for the second consecutive week, buoyed early on by positive economic news such as the jobs report that came out last Friday, according to Freddie Mac.

Lenders are cautioning not only that second-quarter provisions might exceed the spike seen earlier this year, but also that credit costs could be elevated into 2021 if the economic slowdown drags on or fears of a second coronavirus wave are borne out.

The Federal Housing Administration's move to insure loans with forbearance could help support homeownership opportunities constrained by the coronavirus if one change was made to it, trade groups said.

Groups representing community banks and credit unions generally support the new percentage-based goals set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Reserve pledged to maintain at least the current pace of asset purchases and projected interest rates will remain near zero through 2022, as Chairman Jerome Powell committed the central bank to using all its tools to help the economy recover from the coronavirus.

Mortgage investors can take heart knowing the Federal Reserve considers agency MBS a primary arena through which to conduct monetary policy.

The coronavirus market disruption actually caused the company's execs to speed up its return.

If delinquency rates rise, all four stand-alone firms would have a capital shortfall.

Looming economic uncertainties forced mortgage lenders to tighten underwriting standards in May.

Hudson Americas is pooling its next aggregation of non-qualified, high-balance mortgages in a new securitization that is exposed to a large share of borrowers seeking or already receiving pandemic-related forbearance or deferral on payments. So far, a little over half of those granted the allowance have yet to skip any payments.

Independent mortgage banks started 2020 strong after three quarters of high profits, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks to address challenged posed by the sunset of the London interbank offered rate at the end of 2021.

The company's planned two-week halt on originations turned into more than two months on hiatus because of coronavirus-related market disruptions.

Self-service portals fielded at least half of coronavirus-related forbearance-plan requests and made it possible to handle an influx at a challenging time, but the GSEs recommend circling back to borrowers.

The new FHFA rule sets a percentage-based threshold to measure compliance, rather than Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.

The FHFA looks to shed light on the amount of funds Fannie and Freddie will need to hold for their risk-sharing deals.

The firm also predicts that the coronavirus pandemic will delay the GSEs' release from government control.

Just like volatility begets volatility, calmness helps support continued calm.