GSEs

The Federal Reserve Board should create a dedicated facility for mortgage servicers to access in order to make required advances, industry participants and observers, including its largest trade group, said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency authorized the government-sponsored enterprises to lend additional support to the mortgage-backed securities market and temporarily allow some flexibility in lending requirements to address coronavirus-related concerns.

Mark Calabria said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are currently equipped to handle elevated delinquencies, but they might need congressional or Federal Reserve help if fallout from the coronavirus persists.

A number of proposals have been floated for debt payment holidays and other types of moratoria, but such approaches offer solutions that are worse than the problems.

A proposal to tighten financial requirements for government-sponsored enterprise counterparties that sought to lower risk in a volatile market should be suspended, a group representing smaller lenders said, arguing it would aggravate current distress.

Add continued growth in commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding to the list of things that the economic fallout from the coronavirus might affect.

With the return of volume and profitability to mortgage lending, it is no surprise that commercial banks are coming back to the market.

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.

Fannie Mae completed its first two Credit Insurance Risk Transfer transactions of 2020, shifting $1 billion of single-family loan credit risk to insurers and reinsurers.

An effort by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to examine membership rules for the Federal Home Loan Bank System is reigniting an argument over whether to allow more nonbanks in or impose tougher barriers.