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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.

Mortgage applications increased 9.3% from one week earlier, fueled by low mortgage rates and the release of pent-up demand, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Some lawmakers fear that when forbearance plans and enhanced unemployment coverage expire, the consequences for mortgage borrowers still affected by the pandemic will be severe.

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

A federal grand jury indicted Ronald J. McCord, 69, of Oklahoma City, on charges of defrauding two banks, Fannie Mae, and others of millions of dollars, money laundering, and making a false statement to a financial institution, said Timothy J. Downing, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

The FHFA’s proposal is intended to strengthen Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but many experts warn that it could boost guarantee fees for lenders that they say may be passed on to borrowers.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance slowed to a rate of 7 basis points between May 25 and May 31, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.