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

Fannie's lender-letter states: "We are temporarily suspending bulk transactions"...

The average credit score for VA loans rose 1.3 points from the fourth quarter to 716.1 in the first three months of 2020. That’s the highest reading since loan-level MBS became available from Ginnie in 2014.

All of the mortgages in MFA’s planned MBS were originated by Citadel, leading to speculation that the deal was scrapped. However, a spokesperson for MFA said the REIT still plans to issue the security.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae pumped out a record $236.8 billion of single-family MBS in April. The previous record was $232.1 billion, set in June 2009.

Fannie CEO Hugh Frater sees the COVID-19 forbearance count rising to 15% in the second quarter.

In a press briefing early Thursday, company CEO David Brickman noted that the number of forbearance requests have increased “significantly,” adding that he expects the readings to continue to rise.

It’s quite possible a large chunk of these loans will be cash-flow positive again. It’s just a matter of when.

MFA's initial forbearance agreement with its financing providers lasted for 15 days. The REIT extended the agreement through June 1.

In a statement, MBA SVP Mike Fratantoni noted, “Forbearance requests fell relative to the prior week but remain roughly 100 times greater than the early March baseline. While the pace of job losses have slowed from the astronomical heights of just a few weeks ago, millions of people continue to file for unemployment.”