Securitization

A top U.S. regulator is exploring whether to throw a lifeline to mortgage servicers stressed by the coronavirus pandemic by tapping a program meant to address natural disasters.

Two Harbors, a real estate investment trust, sold the bulk of its nonagency mortgage-backed securities portfolio to head off margin calls and refocus on its more favorable agency-MBS investments.

A growing number of real estate investment trusts are facing margin calls, putting increased strain on mortgage market infrastructure and adding to pleas for relief to be included in pending legislation.

FirstKey's securitization of well-seasoned, reperforming loans is the second such transaction in a week — amid an otherwise barren securitization market ground to a halt from the coronavirus crisis.

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 $16 trillion U.S. mortgage market — epicenter of the last global financial crisis — is suddenly experiencing its worst turmoil in more than a decade, setting off alarms across the financial industry and prompting the Federal Reserve to intervene.

Real estate investor Tom Barrack said predicted a “domino effect” of catastrophic economic consequences if banks and government don’t take prompt action to keep commercial mortgage borrowers from defaulting.

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.

The Federal Reserve committed Monday to conducting more asset purchases of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities and announced $300 billion in new financing for credit facilities.

Additional mortgage-backed securities purchases by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will address private investor skittishness about the asset class, but it will not necessarily lower rates.

The credit watch involves single-borrower securitizations of commercial mortgages for high-priced resorts in Florida and Hawaii.

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.

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.

Mortgage real estate investment trusts are taking stock of their financial ability to respond to market shocks and other concerns stemming from the coronavirus.

Canadian policymakers are escalating their efforts to backstop the nation’s financial system and ensure banks have plenty of room to continue lending through the coronavirus crisis.

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

The Federal Reserve's most recent economic-stimulus effort could reduce disparities between a rally in Treasurys and a relative slump in mortgage-backed securities that contributed to higher average home-lending rates last week.

Mortgage prices rose and spreads tightened Monday morning as investors responded favorably to the Federal Reserve's weekend announcement that it will resume net purchases of agency MBS for the first time since October 2014.

The Federal Housing Administration is making coronavirus adjustments while warning of possible delays as the industry anticipates a new wave of borrowing due to the Federal Reserve's latest short-term rate cut.

Home price gains continued during the fourth quarter and pushed the share of upside-down mortgages to the lowest level since the housing crisis, according to CoreLogic.