Freddie Mac

The policy move will allow small institutions participating in the Paycheck Protection Program to pledge business loans as collateral to obtain advances.

The FHFA will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for a limited time, to purchase loans for which the borrower has sought to postpone payments because of the economic effects of the coronavirus.

Efforts to calm lenders’ fears about coronavirus-related forbearance may not offset tightening standards, and the FHA is less likely to boost volume than it was during the financial crisis.

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.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator is confronting a fresh crisis for the U.S. housing market: The companies won't buy recently issued loans that were made to borrowers who already can't afford their monthly payments because of coronavirus.

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.

Mortgage rates slipped this week as the coronavirus keeps affecting the overall U.S. economy, according to Freddie Mac.

The Borrower Protection Program enables the two agencies to exchange information about loss mitigation efforts and consumer complaints regarding specific servicers.

The nascent market for private U.S. mortgages is teetering on the brink of collapse as the coronavirus crisis imperils years of work to lessen the government's role in home lending.

The volume of COVID-19 forbearance requests has risen rapidly as operational processing has improved and hold times have contracted, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Purchase originations will recover somewhat in the third and fourth quarters as home sales pick up.

FHFA head Mark Calabria and his FSOC counterparts need to sit down with the Treasury and fashion an emergency capital plan for the GSEs.

Tenants have threatened to suspend payments during the pandemic to pressure officials into providing rental assistance, but the effects on multifamily loans would compound concerns about servicers' liquidity and, ultimately, lenders' performance.

Mortgage rates remained flat from last week, but are expected to fall further as they continue to lag changes in 10-year Treasury yields, according to Freddie Mac.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Treasury secretary that the Financial Stability Oversight Council should create a liquidity facility to deal with a flood of forbearance requests brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus relief legislation could result in private mortgage insurers having to hold more capital, a B. Riley FBR analyst report said.

Ginnie Mae and the FHA provided temporary liquidity relief for mortgage servicers bracing for higher delinquencies, but the industry continues to pressure Treasury and the Fed to provide more comprehensive support.

Community banks and credit unions could carve out an opportunity by refinancing mortgages from larger institutions.

Mortgage rates dropped for the second consecutive week, falling 17 basis points, but that is not attracting homebuyers back into an uncertain market, according to Freddie Mac.