The percentage of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased one basis point to 10.28%, according to the most recent data released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

It was the second straight week in which the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased by this month — prior to that the percentage had decreased for multiple weeks.

Forbearance plans allow mortgage borrowers to make reduced payments or skip monthly payments. Under the CARES Act, any borrower with a federally-backed mortgage was allowed to request forbearance from their loan servicer.

That included Ginnie Mae loans. Ginnie Mae functions similarly to Fannie Mae FNMA, +4.87% and Freddie Mac FMCC, +5.15%, and securitizes loans made through government programs including Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans.

“The Ginnie Mae segment tends to have more lower-income families and communities of color than the conventional market,” said Ed Demarco, president of the Housing Policy Council, a trade organization. “And these groups have been disproportionately harmed financially by the pandemic and its related shutdowns.”

Government programs typically have less stringent requirements for prospective borrowers than Fannie and Freddie do, including lower credit scores and higher loan-to-value ratios. As a result, these loan programs are especially popular with first-time home buyers.