Servicing

The Treasury secretary said recent government moves will help the firms get through the risk of millions of borrowers missing their loan payments.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending April 24.

Due to COVID-19's economic impact, the number of mortgaged properties in default or foreclosure rose in March for the first time since the turn of the century, according to Black Knight.

The bipartisan coalition of AGs said homeowners should be allowed to wait until the end of a loan term to make payments they skipped because of the coronavirus.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has promised to take care of advances on principal and interest payments for coronavirus forbearances after four months, but servicers remain concerned about other responsibilities.

The agency said it is aligning policies for Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans in forbearance so that servicers are only responsible for advancing four months of missed payments.

Future loss mitigation may be most effective if housing-finance industry stakeholders communicate clearly with consumers about these five aspects of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

Surging unemployment from COVID-19 shutdowns brought a rapidly rising tide of forbearance requests, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal backing for firms facing a deluge of missed mortgage payments is still on the table despite recent comments by an official who questioned the need to help the industry.

The nonprofit that distributed a loss mitigation platform built during the last crisis recently closed, but the technology's creator sees interest in its use for COVID-19-related deferrals.