On the fiscal policy front, the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) provided economic stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits to individuals as well as eviction moratoriums for renters and a requirement that mortgage servicers grant borrowers up to 12 months of forbearance.
All of these policy responses were crucial in easing the stresses in financial markets and helping us weather the period when much of the economy was shuttered. An unfortunate consequence of the mortgage forbearance measure was the pressure it put on the funding needs of servicers, particularly mortgage companies, which are required to continue advancing payments on loans in forbearance.