The flows into commercial MBS of loans backed by office properties, retail facilities, hotels, apartments and industrial properties were all down sharply from the fourth quarter, a victim of the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A FHFA spokesman told Inside Mortgage Finance the pricing approved by the agency is “fair and reasonable. He added: “We have heard these loans would sell for much lower prices (15-20% discounts) in private markets.”
The reaction from some trade group officials was swift. Scott Olson, Executive Director of the Community Home Lenders Association, called the new COVID-19-related guidelines “totally inadequate.”
Is the industry happy about today’s announcement? Some praised it but one veteran lobbyist quipped: “It’s better than nothing but it’s pretty thin gruel.”
Of course, early this spring, the FHFA, in trying to aid consumers economically impacted by the pandemic, requested that servicers provide forbearance.
At yearend, consumers owed $11.168 trillion on their first liens, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, which means the dollar volume of residential loans under forbearance now totals $664.5 billion.
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