Whalen: "It is tempting to think that low interest rates will cure all ills in the housing sector, but this view is seriously in error, as we learned in 2008."

Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.

A top Federal Reserve official is issuing a warning about fast-growing and largely unregulated shadow lenders: They were a big factor in why central banks had to save markets earlier this year, and much more needs to be done to assess the risks posed by the sector.

Policymakers have eased some rules and the Supreme Court recently dealt a blow to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But as the landmark legislation approaches its 10th anniversary, the post-crisis regulatory regime has stayed largely intact.

A bond market once thought to be key to the futures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — and the roughly $5 trillion of home loans they backstop — could instead find itself on the scrap heap due to their own regulator.

FHFA, HUD and Ginnie Mae should let the rate of prepayments on MBS dictate bond prices and market rates.

Some observers said the central bank should have suspended dividends entirely in response to an unprecedented economic emergency caused by the pandemic. Others said its more cautious moves were appropriate because big banks' capital is strong and the economy could bounce back.

In the most sweeping capital distribution order since the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve says it will prohibit big banks from buying back their stock in the third quarter and limit dividend payments to second-quarter levels.

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.

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.

Millennial refinance activity hit a new high-water mark behind historically low mortgage rates, up 40 percentage points from the year before, according to Ellie Mae.

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

Mortgage investors have yet to enjoy robust returns this year despite the Federal Reserve providing $688 billion of support to the sector since mid-March.

The Federal Reserve's actions should keep interest rates down and bring home sales back in June, according to NerdWallet.

Even after the Fed eased some limitations in April to promote emergency lending, the bank has had to make some “tough choices” to heed the $1.95 trillion growth ceiling set by regulators in the aftermath of its phony-accounts scandal.

Democrats’ latest proposal to back debt collectors, enable loans for nonprofits and provide other relief could help steer negotiations with the Senate on more stimulus.

Mortgage rates remained generally steady this past week, even with the continuing market volatility, and that is helping the purchase market, according to Freddie Mac.

The head of the U.S. central bank said its emergency credit programs were not designed to prop businesses up over the long term.

With mortgage rates plummeting, the refinance share of closed loans from millennial borrowers rose for the third straight month, to the highest level since Ellie Mae began tracking the data in 2016.