HUD Deputy Secretary Brian Montgomery said he has not been in any discussions with the Trump administration about urging commercial lenders to suspend mortgage payments in the crisis. Italy suspended mortgage payments last week.

Montgomery said the FHA has a “robust set of tools” to deal with turmoil in the housing market in a crisis, noting they’ve suspended foreclosures and evictions before at a regional level in the wake of natural disasters like hurricanes.

“For the time being, it just hits the pause button and provides steadiness to the housing market,” Montgomery said in a phone interview. “This is a first step; people who were concerned about [losing their homes] can cross that off their list for now.”

The FHFA earlier this month had announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would provide payment forbearance — allowing mortgage payments to be suspended for up to a year — to borrowers hit by the outbreak. The two government-owned enterprises also reminded mortgage servicers that hardship forbearance is an option for borrowers unable to make payments.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger, the chief official tasked with helping consumers struggling with the economic fallout from the outbreak, released a statement today praising the housing agencies for the suspensions.

The bureau has “encouraged financial institutions to work with their customers affected by the coronavirus,” Kraninger said in an email.

“Consumers’ first stop in the face of hardship is with their creditors and their financial institutions, so our message was important for regulated entities to hear,” she added.

