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.

To reduce contact between appraisers and homeowners, the government-sponsored enterprises will accept an exterior-only inspection or a desktop appraisal. Income verification requirements have also been eased.

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.

The Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation into FICO appears to be related to an ongoing civil lawsuit between the company and TransUnion regarding underpaid royalties.

The creation of the qualified-mortgage patch was “unfair” but necessary to prop up originations, according to former CFPB officials who were involved in crafting the temporary rule.

The industry has once again written to Congress requesting that guarantee fees be used only as originally intended: as a critical risk management tool to protect against potential mortgage credit losses.

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.)

If Treasury converts its senior preferred shares to commons and the GSEs go for a public offering, existing shareholders will take a haircut. Valuations on the commons could dip to $1/share for Fannie and $2 for Freddie.

In a plan that began at least as far back as 2016, the FHLBanks actively considered buying one of the government-sponsored enterprises. Even senior staff at Treasury and FHFA were involved.