Mortgages backed by Ginnie Mae showed the largest weekly growth and had the biggest share of forbearances at 5.89% of total servicing portfolios.

As unemployment surges and more Americans struggle to make ends meet, more homeowners are applying for the government’s mortgage forbearance program under the recently passed coronavirus relief plan.

The CARES Act allows borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae to miss up to a year’s worth of monthly payments, which they are then required to remit at a later date or in a payment plan over time.

Requests for forbearance jumped 78% for the week ended April 5 compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The number of borrowers now in forbearance topped 2 million; the share of total loans in servicing portfolios in forbearance rose from 2.73% to 3.74% of total bank and nonbank servicing portfolios.

Mortgages backed by Ginnie Mae showed the largest weekly growth and had the biggest share of forbearances at 5.89% of total servicing portfolios. Ginnie Mae backs loans from the FHA and VA, which have low to no down payment options and are made to borrowers with generally lower credit scores.