According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, consumers owe $11.168 trillion on their first liens. If the new MBA forbearance reading is applied to that number, $883.3 billion of mortgages are in need of assistance, temporary or otherwise.

To clarify: No one is betting on a V-shaped recovery in either the U.S. economy or servicing sales in particular.

Using the "float" of payoffs to offset the advances? Why not? These are tough times...

The mortgage employment reading, while strong, trails the national numbers by one month.

Officials at PennyMac said the nonbank is prepared to handle servicing-advance requirements and that origination activity remains strong...

The $500 deferment fee is scheduled to take effect on July 1, pending approval from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

In addition, Fannie and Freddie have helped reduce face-to-face interactions during the closing process by expanding the use of powers of attorney and remote online notarizations.