(Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac extended their suspensions on mortgage foreclosures through at least June as U.S. homeowners continue to be hit hard by lost jobs and income amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The two mortgage giants, which backstop about $5 trillion of home loans, won't push for forced sales of properties on which borrowers have stopped making payments. Fannie and Freddie initially announced the halts on foreclosures in March, though the relief was set to expire May 17.
“During this national health emergency, no one should be forced from their home,” Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria, the company's regulator, said in a Thursday statement.
Providing aid to mortgage borrowers has been a central element of the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus economic crisis. As part of the $2 trillion stimulus bill passed in March, Congress allowed homeowners suffering through pandemic-related hardships to delay their payments for as long as a year if their loan is backstopped by Fannie, Freddie or a federal agency.
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