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.

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.)

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.

All CFPB employees, including examiners, will telecommute until April 3 in response to the coronavirus, potentially putting all rulemaking, supervision and enforcement activities at the bureau on hold.

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

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.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, some state regulators have temporarily eased rules to allow loan originators to telecommute.

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.