Bank of America Offering Payment & Fee Assistance

Bank of America is offering payment and fee assistance to its customers on a case-by-case basis. Consumer and small business customers can request payment deferrals on lending products like: small business loans, credit cards, auto loans, home equity loans and mortgage loans. With proper deferrals customers will have no negative effects on credit reports. Requests can also be made to waive or refund certain fees. The bank is also pausing asset repossessions, evictions, and foreclosures for now.

For more information and instructions on how to start the process. See https://about.bankofamerica.com/promo/assistance/latest-updates-from-bank-of-america-coronavirus

Bank of America Announces Additional Support for Consumer and Small Business Clients Experiencing Hardship From the Impact of the Coronavirus

Thursday, March 19, 2020 5:18 pm EDT

Bank of America today announced additional support for its 66 million Consumer and Small Business clients in response to the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus. The company is offering assistance to clients through its Client Assistance Program and continuing to provide access to the important financial services on which these clients rely.

“Our clients rely on us every day and for every aspect of their financial lives,” said Dean Athanasia, president of Consumer and Small Business at Bank of America. “We’re going to continue to provide convenient access to the important services they count on, and the additional assistance and support they need during this difficult period. Our priorities are taking care of our team and each other, and continuing to fulfill our fundamental role serving our clients.”

Working on a case-by-case basis, as we’ve done in many other situations including the government shutdown and natural disasters, Bank of America’s additional assistance for clients impacted by the coronavirus includes:

Consumer and Small Business deposit accounts: clients can request refunds including overdraft fees, non-sufficient funds […]

March 23rd, 2020|Banking, Credit Reports, Financial Planning, Loans, News & Commentary, The Economy, Your Money|
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Fannie Mae Announces Payment Relief for Mortgage Borrowers

This week Fannie Mae announced details of their plan to help borrowers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Their plan can help borrowers unable to make mortgage payments and can reduce or suspend mortgage payments and eliminate late fees up to 12 months. They are also able to suspend reporting to credit bureaus about past due payments.

Additionally, they will be suspending evictions and foreclosures for 60 days.

They can also provide broader financial planning help with a needs assessment and personalized recovery plan. Homeowners can reach out to Fannie Mae directly by calling 1-800-2FANNIE (1-800-232-6643). For more information, please visit www.knowyouroptions.com/covid19assistance.

 

Fannie Mae Assistance Options for Homeowners Impacted by COVID-19

March 18, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) wants to help ensure families are given options in these uncertain times in the case of job loss, a reduction in work hours, illness, or other issues. We want to remind those impacted by COVID-19 of available mortgage assistance and relief options. Under Fannie Mae’s guidelines for single-family mortgages:

Homeowners who are adversely impacted by this national emergency may request mortgage assistance by contacting their mortgage servicer
Foreclosure sales and evictions of borrowers are suspended for 60 days
Homeowners impacted by this national emergency are eligible for a forbearance plan to reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 12 months
Credit bureau reporting of past due payments of borrowers in a forbearance plan as a result of hardships attributable to this national emergency is suspended
Homeowners in a forbearance plan will not incur late fees
After forbearance, a servicer must work with the borrower on a permanent plan to help maintain or reduce monthly payment amounts as necessary, including a loan modification
Fannie Mae also offers help navigating the broader financial effects of this national […]

March 20th, 2020|Banking, Financial Planning, Loans, Mortgage Rates, News & Commentary, The Economy, Your Money|
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Freddie Mac Announces Enhanced Relief for Mortgage Borrowers

This week Freddie Mac announced an expansion of its forbearance program to help borrowers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Their plan can help borrowers unable to make mortgage payments and can provide payment relief up to 12 months. They are also able to suspend reporting to credit bureaus about past due payments.

Additionally, they will be suspending evictions and foreclosures until mid-May or possibly longer depending up how things develop.

To contact Freddie Mac about your mortgage contact them here: https://myhome.freddiemac.com/mortgage-help/contact.html

 

Freddie Mac Announces Enhanced Relief for Borrowers Impacted by COVID-19

Company suspends single family foreclosure sales and evictions; confirms and expands forbearance and modification programs

MCLEAN, Va., March 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today announced it is taking numerous actions to protect those affected, either directly or indirectly, by the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19. Specifically, for its Single-Family business, the company announced a nationwide suspension of all foreclosure sales and evictions of borrowers living in homes owned by the company. It also announced a variety of additional mortgage relief options, including an expansion of its forbearance program, to incorporate additional impacted borrowers. The company also has reminded Servicers of its existing suite of mortgage relief options to assist borrowers, while also making additional disaster related loan modifications available.

These measures are effective immediately and apply to borrowers who are unable to make their mortgage payments due to a decline in income resulting from the impact of COVID-19, regardless of whether they have contracted the virus.

Forbearance plans provide borrowers with payment relief for up to 12-months and suspend borrower late charges and penalties. It also suspends reporting to credit bureaus of past due payments of borrowers who are in a forbearance plan as a […]

March 20th, 2020|Banking, Financial Planning, Loans, Mortgage Rates, News & Commentary, The Economy, Your Money|
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Student Loan Interest & Payments Temporarily Waived By President

Today, President Trump announced that upon request student loan payments can be suspended by borrowers for 60 days or more. This announcement further clarifies and enhances the announcement from last week about deferring student loan interest. While interest will be automatically set to zero percent on loans, borrowers will need to contact their loan servicer to request administrative forbearance to delay payments. However, if you’re at least 31 days behind on your payment as of March 13, 2020, or become more than 31 days delinquent after that date, you’ll automatically be placed in the administrative forbearance to give you a safety net during the COVID-19 national emergency.

If you do not know who your servicer is or how to contact them, visit StudentAid.gov/login or call us at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243; TTY for the deaf or hearing-impaired 1-800-730-8913) for assistance.

The important details:

  • All loans owned by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will have interest waived. That includes Direct Loans, as well as Federal Perkins Loans and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans held by ED.
  • Interest automatically waived.
  • To stop payments request administrative forbearance, unless you are already sufficiently delinquent.
  • Right now the plan is for 60 days, but will be evaluated as crisis unfolds the time period may be extended.
  • See StudentAid.gov/coronavirus and the press release below for more details.

As we mentioned last week, there were many details to be sorted out. However, for the policy to have an immediate impact on the cash flow of borrowers there will need to be payment reductions. This will allow money to flow directly into the economy, which are the stated goals of the recent efforts by the White House […]

March 20th, 2020|Banking, Loans, News & Commentary, The Economy, Your Money|
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Ally Bank Deferring Payments and Fees For Some Customers

In effort to assist those currently in need and trying to figure out how to make ends meet, Ally Bank is taking steps to help. Mortgage and auto loan customers can get up to 120 day deferments on loan payments. They will also be suspending many banking fees for the next 120 days. See below for their statement and contact them for details.

Statement From Ally Bank

With the growing spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), we know this is a difficult time for many, and we’re committed to doing what’s right for you. We’re making some changes to support you during this time, and we’re working behind the scenes to find more ways we can make sure you have access to the financial services you need to help you stay healthy and have some peace of mind.

We encourage you to visit ally.com or download our app for 24/7 access. This is an unprecedented situation, and we’re doing everything in our power to help people who have been impacted by COVID-19, but call wait times may be longer than usual.

Here is a summary of updates that we hope will help.

Suspended fees at Ally Bank. For the next 120 days, we’re waiving fees for overdrafts, excessive transactions for savings and money market accounts, and expedited shipping of checks and debit cards. As always, there are no monthly maintenance fees or balance minimums to bank with us. If you have questions, contact us at 1-877-247-2559. We’re here 24/7.

Deferred payments for Ally Auto financing. You can defer your payment for up to 120 days. During this time, finance charges will accrue, but you won’t be charged any late fees. Starting March 20, you’ll be able to log in at […]

March 19th, 2020|Banking, Financial Planning, Loans, News & Commentary, The Economy, Your Money|
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