Pub. 17 2020 Issue 2

18 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S T he COVID-19 pandemic has changed American life as we know it. As the country continues to deal with the health crisis, the effects of containment measures ripple through the American economy. Unemployment remains high as state economies expand and contract in inverse proportion to the virus’s spread. Regulators are in an arms race with rapidly changing markets, forcing banks to adapt to an ever-changing regulato- ry landscape. Even as we struggle to deal with the immediate concerns, we know the effects of this pandemic will be with us for some time. Economic shocks will continue to reverber- ate and play out in the housing markets around the country. As we shift into the next phase of operating in the pandemic and consider what options exist to help struggling mortgage borrowers, we should take note of the status of the expansive mortgagor protections passed by Congress, federal agencies and other government authorities. Protection for Federally Backed Mortgage Loans In the early days of the pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. One of the primary sections of this law established a 60- day moratorium on foreclosure proceedings against home- owners with federally-backed mortgage loans. The CARES Act’s mortgage foreclosure moratorium applied to single-fam- ily residential mortgage loans secured, guaranteed, or made by FHA, USDA, VA, or Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Originally scheduled to expire at the end of June, the various agencies extended the moratorium on foreclosures and evictions until at least Aug. 31, 2020. The CARES Act also granted federally backed mortgage loan consumers experiencing financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the right to request six months of forbearance (with an option of six additional months), regard- less of delinquency status. Congress prohibited servicers from charging any fees related to this forbearance. Mortgage delin- quency status is frozen in place during forbearance, even if the bank suspends payments during the forbearance. As it stands today, customers can request forbearance under the CARES Act until the earlier of the end of 2020 or the end-date of the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease outbreak declared by the president on March 13, 2020, under the National Emergencies Act. FORECLOSURE PROTECTION: WHERE ARE WE NOW? By Chris Bell, Compliance Alliance