The total share of mortgage loans in forbearance modestly rose to 8.55 percent of servicers’ portfolio volume during the week ending on June 7, 2020, up from 8.53 percent the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey. There are now nearly 4.3 million homeowners enrolled in forbearance plans.
Weekly forbearance requests as a percent of servicing portfolio volume rose slightly to 0.19 percent from 0.17 percent the week before, the first increase in such calls since the week ending on April 5.
Week-over-week there was not much change in percentage of loans in forbearance across Ginnie Mae, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Ginnie Mae loans remained constant at 11.83 percent, while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans declined slightly from 6.40 percent to 6.38 percent. Other loans in forbearance (private label securities (PLS), portfolio, etc.) rose on a weekly basis to 10.18 percent, up from 10.03 percent the week before.
Courtesy of MBA Weekly Forbearance and Call Volume Survey, as of 6/7/20
Total loans in forbearance for depository servicers rose to 9.24 percent up from 9.18 percent the previous week while total loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers also increased to 8.43 percent from 8.39 percent the week before.
Mike Fratantoni | Photo credit: Mortgage Bankers Association
“MBA’s survey results from the first week of June showed a slight uptick in the overall share of loans in forbearance, but this increase was primarily driven by a larger share of portfolio and PLS loans in forbearance,” Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist, said in a statement. “Although there continues to be layoffs, the job market does appear to be improving, and this is likely leading to many borrowers in forbearance deciding to opt out of their plan.”
Calls as a percentage of servicing portfolio volume rose from 6.7 percent the week prior to 8.0 percent the week ending on June 7, likely a result of beginning-of-the-month payment inquiries.
“With June mortgage payments due, servicers did report the first increase in forbearance requests in two months,” Fratantoni said in a press release. “The level of forbearance requests is still quite low, but there was a noticeable increase in call volume over the course of the week.”