Category: News and Trends

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“The need for continued access to CARES Act forbearance past the end of this calendar year is evident from the growing infection counts and associated economic disruption across the country. As such, we urge the agencies to publicly announce that the COVID-19 forbearance programs will continue to be available through the National Emergency period, allowing sufficient time for borrowers to access this assistance and servicers to plan for continued program delivery over the coming months.”
–From an MBA/trade group letter to federal agencies asking for a consistent timeframe for CARES Act forbearance.

| By MBA NewsLink Staff

MBA, Trade Groups Urge Treasury to Promote ‘Critical Reforms’ of GSEs

More than 12 years after the federal government placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under conservatorship—and seemingly no closer to moving them out of conservatorship—the Mortgage Bankers Association and several industry trade groups urged the Treasury Department to promote “critical reforms” of the GSEs and bolster their safety and soundness.

| By Mike Sorohan

MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Drops Back to 5.48%

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey reported loans now in forbearance decreased to 5.48% of servicers’ portfolio volume as of December 6 from 5.54% the prior week. MBA estimates 2.7 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.

| By MBA NewsLink Staff

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“MBA applauds the Bureau for releasing the final General and Seasoned QM rules. The revisions to these rules will preserve and expand responsible access to affordable credit while retaining core consumer protections. In particular, these rules remove cumbersome requirements for non-traditional sources of income and expand consumers’ choices. MBA appreciates the Bureau’s effort to seek stakeholder input, and we look forward to continuing to work together on other issues aimed at protecting consumers.”
–MBA President & CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB.

| By MBA NewsLink Staff

Scott Colclough: Amidst Uncertainty, Hedging Still Works

By maintaining a prudent hedging strategy constructed using mortgage-backed securities, mortgage lenders can match market movement on the value of borrower locks to the market in which the locks were taken.

| By MBA NewsLink Staff

Andrew Foster: Top Five Commercial Mortgage Servicing Issues to Watch in 2021

While most will be monitoring increased infections and the progress of vaccine distribution and effectiveness, loan servicing and asset management professionals will have some additional factors impacting their organizations and books of business in the new year.

| By MBA NewsLink Staff

CFPB Issues Final Mortgage Rules on General QM, Seasoned QM

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued final rules related to qualified mortgage loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association provided preliminary summaries of the final rules.

| By MBA NewsLink Staff

The Redesigned URLA Is Coming Jan. 1. Are You Ready?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) will ring in the New Year by starting to accept the redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) and updated automated underwriting system (AUS) loan application submission files based on MISMO v3.4. Beginning January 1, 2021, all lenders, aggregators and third-party originators who are ready to send and accept the redesigned URLA may participate in the two-month Open Production Period (OPP), which allows for a gradual transition prior to the March 1, 2021 mandate.

| By MBA NewsLink Staff