On March 30, the Biden administration announced it is pausing more student loan payments for borrowers who are in default on government-backed loans owned by private lenders. The move extends relief to 1.14 million students who borrowed under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) and not yet covered under previous pandemic reprieves.

The credit card issuer space has been heavily impacted by the pandemic with customer attrition rates falling to record lows. The American Banker writes that across the industry, outstanding balances fell to $820 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, down from $930 billion a year earlier, as more consumers have paid down their debts and card issuers have become more selective about approving new customers.

On the most recent edition of SFA’s Bright Ideas podcast, SFA CEO Michael Bright sits down with Politico's Katy O’Donnell to discuss how COVID-19 has shined a light on the longstanding racial disparity in housing.

Payment relief for borrowers of federally-backed mortgages provided under the CARES Act was set to expire in March for over two million Americans. However, on February 16, the Biden administration announced an extension of the moratorium on foreclosures and the deadline to request mortgage forbearance through at least June.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently stated that the U.S. can return to full employment in 2022 if a robust enough stimulus package passes, according to Bloomberg.

The Labor Department reported that the number of workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for the third week in a row. Initial claims were 779,000, down from the previous week’s revised level of 812,000. While these recent data points indicate a stabilization in the number of workers seeking benefits, it is important to note that these levels are well above the pre-pandemic peak of 695,000 and are higher than in any previous recession according to records dating back to 1967.

A recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report projects 4.6% growth this year with employment not returning to pre-pandemic levels until 2024, according to AP News.

President Biden issued an executive order extending the payment moratorium on federally owned student loans to September 30, 2021. The order, which keeps the interest rate on impacted student loans at 0%, is expected to support 40 million Americans

On Tuesday January 19, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Request for Information (RFI). The RFI raises questions about two broad sets of issues: (1) identifying and assessing climate and natural disaster risk and (2) enhancing FHFA's supervisory and regulatory framework.

In her remarks before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday January 19, Dr. Janet Yellen discussed the need for another significant economic stimulus package in order to combat the negative effects of the pandemic.