NCUA, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the CFPB jointly issued an interim final rule on Tuesday to allow regulated institutions to extend financing to creditworthy households and businesses quickly in the wake of the national emergency declared in connection with COVID-19.

The agencies are deferring certain appraisals and evaluations for up to 120 days after closing of residential or commercial real estate loan transactions, according to a Tuesday NCUA press release.

“Transactions involving acquisition, development, and construction of real estate are excluded from this interim rule,” the release stated. “These temporary provisions will expire on December 31, 2020, unless extended by the federal banking agencies.”

An interagency statement outlines other flexibilities in industry appraisal standards and in the agencies’ appraisal regulations and describes temporary changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appraisal standards that can assist lenders during this challenging time.

The text of the rule is available on NCUA’s website and the interagency statement on the rule also is available on NCUA’s website.