KBW believes the Freddie announcement could improve valuations for mortgage servicing rights “as the market reduces its expectations for potential servicing advance costs.”
Uncertainty regarding the performance of mortgages underlying its CRT in-vestments prompted PMT to boost the discount rate on its loans from just 5% at the end of the fourth quarter to about 11% as of March 31.
Since March, spreads between SOFR and the three-month LIBOR have widened to roughly 80 basis points. The five-year average, which the ARRC recommends as a “spread adjustment,” is only 27 bps.
UWM has rolled out an ambitious new program to fund a ton of conventional FRMs at 2.5%. Meanwhile, Fannie/Freddie borrowers have a new COVID-19 payment deferral option.
The new policy applies to borrowers who can afford to resume making their regular monthly mortgage payments, but are unable to cover the remittances they missed during forbearance...
The GSEs’ showing in the first quarter only reflects one full month of the impact of the coronavirus crisis. As potentially millions more homeowners stop paying their mortgages, the enterprises face the prospect of an even more challenging second quarter. (Includes data chart.)
Most of the FHLBanks’ COVID-19 relief programs have been initiated at the district level, resulting in considerable variations in scale and generosity.
Freddie Mac believes the market for credit-risk transfers may never return to pre-COVID levels because of the potential impact of the pandemic on mortgage performance.