Person Root Tag

The temporary foreclosure moratorium on loans backed by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac comes after lawmakers and housing advocates had pushed for steps to avoid consumers getting booted from their homes.

The Trump administration is considering a plan to allow homeowners whose income was cut by the coronavirus to delay mortgage payments. Still to be decided is a mechanism for borrowers to catch up.

The Federal Open Market Committee lowered the fed funds rate target to between zero and ¼% in an emergency meeting on Sunday, but while analysts say the move was needed, they feel it will take more to offset the effects of COVID-19.

A national moratorium would be costly to lenders and servicers, but proponents say it's needed to help cushion the economic blow of the pandemic.

The actions include cutting the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25% and other steps to ease economic stress from the spread of the coronavirus.

The central bank has been under increasing pressure to act as investors have been losing faith in the Trump administration's efforts to contain the economic fallout.

Financial executives who visited the White House pledged to help small businesses and consumers get through any economic damage as the virus continues to spread. They also encouraged the government to support fiscal stimulus policies.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac coming out of conservatorship and transitioning into public utilities would be the ideal for small mortgage lenders, according to trade-organization representative Robert Zimmer.

Leonard Chanin, a senior official at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has been tapped to serve on a part-time basis as the No. 2 official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a news report.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds rate target 50 basis points to a range between 1% and 1.25%, it announced Tuesday.