HECMs saw greater pullbacks in endorsements at end of 2022

Home Equity Conversion Mortgages endorsements among reverse originators slowed toward the end of 2022 in what turned out to be a quarter they might prefer to forget.

New endorsements in November totaled 3,270, a 6.6% decrease from October's figure of 3,500, with only three of the top 10 originators recording a monthly gain, according to new data released by Reverse Market Insight. Retail endorsements slipped 6%, while wholesale fell by 7.3%. 

But the total number of endorsements on a 12-month trailing basis also came in at 61,205, an 18% year-over-year increase from 51,824.

The contrasting data reflected much of the turbulence facing reverse originators both during the fourth quarter and full year 2022. In March, reverse-mortgage lenders saw numbers hit their highest levels in over a decade before dropping to a multiyear low just a few months later as interest rates rose.   

November also ended with the bankruptcy of Reverse Mortgage Funding, one of the leading lenders in the segment. Before announcing it was filing for Chapter 11 at the end of the month, RMF had suspended new originations weeks earlier. But with a little over 8% of market share based on endorsements, the Bloomfield, New Jersey-based company still ranked as the fifth largest HECM originator up until the time of the announcement. Endorsements at RMF fell from 294 to 287 between October and November.

While the full impact of RMF's departure might take time to become fully evident, an early look at Reverse Market Insight's December endorsements showed more softening ahead, with further monthly volume contraction of close to 15%. 

As the reverse mortgage market was still processing RMF's news, the nation's largest reverse mortgage lenders agreed to a major acquisition deal just days later, with No. 2 Finance of America Reverse purchasing leader American Advisors Group. Finance of America had previously discontinued all forward-lending business to focus on other channels, including reverse and commercial mortgages and home improvement.

In November, AAG again led all originators with 720 endorsements, well ahead of Finance of America, which recorded 352. By comparison, October endorsements came in at 840 and 445, respectively for the two companies. Total market share year to date of both businesses combined was 43%, with 27% belonging to AAG and 16% to Finance of America. 

In third place with a 13.9% share was Longbridge Financial, who was one of the few originators to see numbers increase in November. Endorsements rose 2% to 450 from 441 a month earlier. 

In the weeks since the exit of Reverse Mortgage Funding, Ginnie Mae, a division of the Department of Housing and Urban Development who runs the government HECM program, stepped in to seize the portfolio of the bankrupt company and take over servicing of the loans, in order to minimize potential problems for customers.