Mortgage servicers’ phone lines over the past few days have been inundated with calls from borrowers requesting forbearance.

The mortgage market remained unsettled as the coronavirus damaged the U.S. economy and lenders weighed their options. The Fed came to the rescue with liquidity measures but fears regarding nonbanks persist.

The servicing acquisition market often gets whipsawed by falling interest rates. But it now has a bigger enemy: financial uncertainty.

Proposed legislation in New York could reduce legal uncertainties and economic difficulties associated with moving legacy adjustable-rate mortgages away from the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate.

It was mortgage market Armageddon this week, courtesy of the corona-virus. Lenders were knee-deep in refis but fears mounted regarding an expected spike in delinquencies and about nonbank liquidity. The feds issued a foreclosure moratorium on government and GSE loans.

Single-family mortgage servicing was a healthy, growing market with a variety of business strategies in 4Q19. It may be morphing into something much different during the coronavirus crisis.(Includes two data charts.)

Several nonbanks claim to have plenty of liquidity amid the current market turmoil. Servicing will incur losses while originations generate income.

Mortgage firms are either allowing call center employees to telework or have stepped up cleaning procedures in response to the coronavirus.

The mortgage banking industry is grappling with historically low rates that are spurring a boom in originations but an anticipated bloodbath in MSR markdowns. Profits galore or Armageddon times?

Subservicing vendors continued to make gains in the fourth quarter as the appetite for outsourcing grew. In short, some MSR owners just don’t want to deal with the hassle of loan processing and regulations. (Includes data chart.)