An established state-chartered bank based in Illinois is growing its reverse mortgage team with the help of former MetLife regional manager David Cesario. The team, which numbered four just a few months ago, now counts more than 20 reverse mortgage originators with plans to hire many more.
Cesario, MSI’s national sales and production reverse mortgage manager calls the lender a “hybrid correspondent,” currently, in that the company funds its own loans but does not fully underwrite. It will soon become a full fledged correspondent, he says.
The company’s forward operations also foster growth in the reverse division, as the forward production team numbers between 200 and 300 with 800 correspondents.
“We realized the current forward climate is not going to last forever, and it was time to build the next story—our reverse mortgage division,” Cesario says. “The foundation was here, now is time to build on it.”
MSI, short for Mortgage Services III, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Illinois-based First State Bank.
The company grew its reverse mortgage team through the hires of some former MetLife originators, as well as originators from other lenders, with the goal of reaching 35-45 loans per month within the next six months.
“We are emerging as a new version of MSI Reverse,” Cesario says.
MSI’s forward counterpart is currently in the application process for approval to issue GNMA securities, Cesario told RMD, which does not enable it to issue on the reverse side, but would make the process for applying to issue reverse mortgage HMBS easier, when the time comes.
“We will be increasing production out there and we are going to be a player in this space,” he says. “The bank platform is one of the big opportunities we enjoy… and seniors still have some reverence for bank lenders.”
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
