In case you missed it…here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week.
Urban Financial finalized its acquisition of Guardian First Funding, along with its Robert Wagner campaign. Backed by Knight Capital Group (NYSE: KCG), the acquisition brings Guardian’s call center-driven retail model and rights to its Robert Wagner marketing campaign to the Urban Financial brand and operations. Urban announced the deal in October, and confirmed this week that the deal has been finalized.
The trend in non-FHA-approved reverse mortgage originators continued. The growth of third-party reverse mortgage originations from non-Federal Housing Administration approved brokers represented a continuing trend, according to a report from Reverse Market Insight.
Canada Bank HomEquity expanded its reverse mortgage eligibility to ages 55 and up. Reverse mortgages are now available to Canadian homeowners who are ages 55 and older, thanks to a recent change to the Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP), offered by HomEquity Bank, the country’s only national provider of reverse mortgages.
NRMLA spoke against a California reverse mortgage bill and its consequences. The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association sent a letter to express the association’s concerns regarding California Assembly Bill 793, which would prohibit most insurance agents from participating in the reverse mortgage process.
And in CFPB news, speculation circulated about a potential director nominee that is not Elizabeth Warren. News outlets reported that Raj Date, Wall Street veteran and current CFPB associate director for research, markets and regulation has emerged as another likely nominee for the job.
Finally, If you haven’t seen it, check out a three-part video series from AARP this week covering reverse mortgages, the lawsuit filed by AARP against HUD, consumer protections and advantages of the Saver versus traditional HECM loan.
The second video, “Reverse Mortgages: What You Need to Know,” features NRMLA President Peter Bell discussing the Saver product with Susanna Montezemolo, Vice President at the Center for Responsible Lending.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
