The temporary foreclosure moratorium on loans backed by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac comes after lawmakers and housing advocates had pushed for steps to avoid consumers getting booted from their homes.
Financial institutions’ legislative agenda was already a low priority in Congress. Lawmakers’ efforts to stabilize the economy have shifted attention even farther away from bills that would benefit the industry.
Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, said financial institutions "need to be investing in their communities right now, not investing in their CEOs’ stock portfolios.”
Sen. Mark Warner led a group of Democratic senators in calling on bank, credit union and GSE regulators to give detailed instructions on helping consumer and commercial borrowers hurt by the COVID-19 outbreak.