In the coronavirus era, mortgage forbearance is the watchword. But just how many loans will go that route? Will Ginnie Mae get swamped?

The nonbank mortgage sector appeared to be whistling by the graveyard earlier this week because of liquidity concerns sparked by the pandemic. For now, crisis has been averted but the situation is fluid.

As the economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus heats up, residential lenders have tightened their underwriting guidelines.

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.

Some 60% of last year's agency single-family business came from markets that are now under shelter-in-places mandated by state governors. (Includes data chart.)

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

Ginnie Mae said it continues to provide services and is in close communication with issuers, servicers, vendors and trustees.

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.

Regulators are asking lenders to be mindful of how the coronavirus outbreak may impact borrowers’ ability to make monthly mortgage payments.

Ginnie Mae plans to replace the current pool-level orientation of its mortgage-backed securities platform with loan-level functionality. The goal is to scope out a path and timeline to implement loan-level capabilities.