Some say the agencies are exacting too high a price to buy loans from the cash-strapped lenders; some small banks hustled in dealing with the Paycheck Protection Program, others are accused of a hustle.
The bill, which includes $310 billion in new funding, is expected to pass the House on Thursday; Chase has no timeline for returning but plans to bring back employees to offices in stages.
The agency said it is aligning policies for Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans in forbearance so that servicers are only responsible for advancing four months of missed payments.
Federal backing for firms facing a deluge of missed mortgage payments is still on the table despite recent comments by an official who questioned the need to help the industry.
The letter written by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was seen as a boost to Wall Street lobbying efforts seeking to quell the fallout of the coronavirus crisis on the mortgage market.
The Borrower Protection Program enables the two agencies to exchange information about loss mitigation efforts and consumer complaints regarding specific servicers.
Tenants have threatened to suspend payments during the pandemic to pressure officials into providing rental assistance, but the effects on multifamily loans would compound concerns about servicers' liquidity and, ultimately, lenders' performance.
Ginnie Mae will begin taking requests for assistance from issuers who, having exhausted all other options, are having trouble advancing borrowers' principal-and-interest payments to investors amid the pandemic.
