In case you missed it… here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week.
New York Life hinted at a foray into reverse mortgages (officially). RMD found a NYL job posting seeking someone to oversee all financial reporting and business planning elements of the insurer’s Home Equity Income Solutions (HEIS) business line. The company has hinted at its interest in reverse mortgages, but this is the first serious indication they are building a business. New York Life describes its HEIS business as a “proprietary approach to the reverse mortgage market.” Find out more.
The CFPB got its chief. After months of speculation and bi-partisan sparring, President Obama exercised a recess appointment of Richard Cordray to serve as the bureau’s director. The appointment effectively gives the CFPB its full authority to regulate all lenders, bank and non-bank.
…and then it started work on non-bank lender enforcement immediately. In a speech given just a day after his appointment, Cordray outlined the CFPB’s approach to overseeing non-bank lenders, including mortgage companies. Not having been regulated in this way in the past, Cordray said the new regulation could “challenge” non-bank lenders.
MetLife saw a strong year-end for reverse mortgages. A Reverse Market Insight report showed November and December 2011 were MetLife’s best months of the year for endorsement volume. The lender is still picking up market share in the wake of Wells Fargo’s exit from the business, RMI noted.
NewDay got a slightly new name. No. 12 reverse mortgage lender NewDay Financial changed its name to NewDay USA. Its NewDay Reverse business will remain unchanged, although company execs told RMD it was planning for growth of the division in 2012.
We talked with Urban’s new leadership to find out what’s in store… RMD’s very own John Yedinak sat down with new Urban Financial CEO Steve McClelland to find out about executive changes within the company and what’s in store.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
