FHFA: GSEs Will Purchase Qualified Loans in Forbearance

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it would approve purchase of certain single-family mortgages in forbearance that meet specific eligibility criteria by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

MBA Asks Small Business Administration to Relax Eligibility Rules for PPP Loans

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a letter last week to the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration, asked SBA to relax a part of its eligibility rule so that small independent mortgage banks can qualify for loans under Section 7(a) of the recently approved Paycheck Protection Program.

Fed Announces Additional $2.3 Trillion in Government Loan Facilities

The Federal Reserve on Apr. 9 announced a dramatic increase to the scale and scope of its mortgage-backed securities purchases, providing up to $2.3 trillion in new loans to support the economy to bolster the ability of state and local governments to deliver services during the coronavirus pandemic.

MBA Takes Issue with Calabria’s Downplay of Need for Servicer Liquidity Facility

The Mortgage Bankers Association called “troubling” comments by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria in which he dismissed the immediate need for a federally backed liquidity facility to assist mortgage servicers with forbearance efforts resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

MBA Raises Concerns with SEC on Broker-Dealer Margin Call Volatility

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a letter Sunday to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, raised “urgent concern” about dramatic price volatility in the market for agency mortgage-backed securities over the past week that leading to broker-dealer margin calls on mortgage lenders’ hedge positions that are unsustainable for many such lenders.