The Federal Reserve, in its most aggressive actions yet, announced further steps this morning to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, including actions strongly advocated for over the weekend by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this morning issued two directives to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—one to enter into additional dollar roll transactions to provide mortgage-backed securities investors with short-term financing of their positions; and the other to provide alternative flexibilities to satisfy appraisal requirements and employment verification requirements.

Six federal agencies on Sunday issued a joint statement encouraging financial institutions to “work constructively” with borrowers affected by the coronavirus pandemic and said they “will not criticize” loan modifications made in a “safe and sound” manner.