CARES Act

Both the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Federal Housing Administration are extending relief for homeowners and renters due to the pandemic crisis.

The agencies completed steps to ease a community bank capital measure temporarily and to delay a new credit-loss accounting standard.

With big banks largely shunning the program, small banks see an opening to grab more market share in commercial lending.

Paralysis between Republicans and Democrats hurts the people who would benefit the most from digital delivery of government stimulus funds, argues Polyient Labs' Jeff Hinkle.

The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said the central bank had acquired stakes in 32 business loans as of Monday, four times the amount from two weeks earlier.

At its inaugural hearing, the committee appointed by lawmakers to oversee CARES Act implementation pressed for answers about why the Main Street Lending Program is off to such a slow start.

Just eight loans had been made as of late July, six of them through a single community bank in Florida, according to new data on the federal rescue program for small and midsize companies hurt by the pandemic.

Credit card balances declined most sharply as consumers cut back their spending due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdown orders, the New York Fed said Thursday. But delinquencies also fell across all debt categories, thanks to government and lender relief efforts.

As Senate Republicans consider a new coronavirus relief package, the Federal Reserve chairman said easing the so-called Collins amendment would help financial institutions support the economy.

The enhanced jobless benefits in the coronavirus relief law enacted in March helped limit delinquencies and maintain consumer spending, analysts say. In their follow-up stimulus plan, Senate Republicans want to cut those benefits from $600 to $200 a week.

The three-month extension for the central bank's lending programs is one of several recent steps by policymakers to stabilize the economy as the coronavirus pandemic stretches through the summer.

The Senate Republicans' coronavirus relief package, known as the HEALS Act, would continue to make the loan program available to businesses, but any final bill would need to be negotiated with House Democrats.

The Senate Republicans' coronavirus relief package, known as the HEALS Act, would continue to make the loan program available to businesses, but any final bill would need to be negotiated with House Democrats.

The legislation, which has yet to pass the House, is meant to ensure coronavirus relief funds go to consumers and are not diverted to debt collectors.

The House Financial Services Committee chair vowed to stay focused on the HEROES Act after the panel's top Republican said lawmakers should instead debate bills with bipartisan support.

Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have imposed heavy price adjustments for loans that were granted relief under the pandemic relief law enacted in March.

From affordable housing policy to GSE conservatorship, the next president will wield a heavy influence on mortgage and housing policies.

The coronavirus relief law allows forbearance plans for up to a year on federally backed mortgages, but House Democrats say homeowners have had difficulty getting relief.

There will be lasting consequences for financial institutions that choose short-term protections for their bottom line over the economic security of the consumers they serve.