Secondary markets

Federal Reserve officials restated their pledge to hold the benchmark interest rate near zero and will keep buying bonds, judging that the coronavirus pandemic "poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now able to buy loans in forbearance to alleviate pressure on the sector, but the fees charged by the mortgage giants to assume more risk could turn away some originators.

Refinancing drove a 75% year-over-year increase in mortgage banking revenue during the first quarter at Flagstar Bancorp as it shored up its operations to avoid other negative repercussions from the coronavirus.

Correspondent loan sellers are hoping the new GSE purchases will help to open a market frozen by coronavirus-related risk — but the prices offered so far aren't too promising.

The conditions the pandemic created could be the driver of e-mortgage adoption that has been long in coming.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has promised to take care of advances on principal and interest payments for coronavirus forbearances after four months, but servicers remain concerned about other responsibilities.

Impac Mortgage temporarily shut lending operations and furloughed 333 workers due to market turmoil tied to the novel coronavirus.

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.

Declines in mortgage servicing rights valuations at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo point to the resurgence of a dilemma that came up during the last downturn.

Lenders that split their sales of loans and servicing between two different investors may be facing yet another challenge due to the coronavirus outbreak.