Reverse mortgage production exceeded 100,000 loans last year, and the biggest lender closed nearly one-fifth of the total. For the third month in a row, the title of biggest lender has changed hands, while the biggest reverse wholesaler relinquished its title.
Total reverse mortgage production from all U.S. lenders was 111,864 units during 2009, Reverse Market Insight reported.
Topping the list was Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which closed 21,411 reverse mortgages last year. Bank of America, N.A., followed with 19,391, then Financial Freedom Aquis., with 14,241 units. MetLife Bank was No. 4 with 13,363 reverse mortgage originations, then James B. Nutter and Co., where 6,848 loans were closed.
During just December, Bank of America, N.A., closed 1,887 reverse mortgages. Business rose from 1,579 in November and was higher than any other lender.
It was the third consecutive month that the No. 1 title changed hands; Wells Fargo, nabbed it in November, while MetLife stole it from Wells Fargo the prior month.
December reverse originations at Wells Fargo increased to 1,717 from 1,635, followed by MetLife, which saw activity decrease to 1,251 from 1,469.
No. 4 was Financial Freedom, where originations climbed to 781 from 699, and No. 5 Urban Financial Group leapt to 611 closings from 388 in November.
The newsletter indicated that U.S. originations by retail reverse lenders totaled 3,954 loans in December, edging up from 3,836 the prior month but worse than 4,601 the prior year.
During all of 2009, U.S. originations of reverse mortgages by retail lenders totaled 52,928 loans.
Reverse mortgage production by U.S. wholesalers climbed to 4,326 loans in December from 3,901. But business was worse than 5,161 units in December 2008.
Full-year 2009 wholesale volume was 58,936.
Bank of America grabbed the top wholesaler spot during December, with volume increasing to 963 from 851. No. 2 MetLife saw activity decline to 930 from November’s 1,123, and No. 3 Urban Financial jumped to 550 from 271.
Financial Freedom was fourth, with wholesale closings climbing to 542 from 489, and No. 5 Genworth Financial rose to 269 from 216.
