MetLife Inc.’s reverse lending unit has become the biggest fish in a shrinking pond. Based on all companies that originate federally insured reverse mortgages, average production was less than four loans per lender last month.
The Federal Housing Administration endorsed 4,653 home-equity conversion mortgages during October. Volume dropped from 5,590 endorsements a month earlier.
Those findings were revealed in the latest edition of Reverse Market Insight.
A year earlier, FHAÂ insured 5,279 HECMs.
In the 10 months ended Oct. 31, HECM production totaled 59,404.
For the first time in at least three years, MetLife Bank ascended to the No. 1 retail position. The company closed 913 federally insured reverse mortgages last month, declining from 1,134 in September.
MetLife dominated by default; the formerly top-two retail HECMÂ lenders — Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Bank of America, N.A. — are getting out of the business.
Wells Fargo, which has consistently been the biggest retail HECM lender for at least the past three years, saw retail volume plummet to 787 units in October from the prior month’s 1,447 as it closes out its pipeline.
No. 3 was One Reverse Mortgage LLC, where endorsements climbed to 446 loans from September’s 413 units.
Urban Financial Group followed with 301 retail HECMs endorsed during October, and Generation Mortgage Co. was No. 5 with 288 fundings.
The number of active HECM lenders was 1,293, down significantly from 2,120 the prior year.
Based on the number of HECM lenders, average production per company was just 3.6 loans during October. As Wells Fargo completes its exit from the industry, that number is likely to fall further.
