It’s official. MetLife Bank has become the biggest originator of federally insured reverse mortgages.
The parent of MetLife Home Loans closed 1,242 home-equity conversion mortgages during May, the most of any lender, Reverse Market Insight reported. It was a big jump from 843 units the prior month and reflects the exit of Bank of America, N.A., and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. — the former reverse leader.
Wells slipped from to No. 2 with 1,141 fundings, down from 1,318 in April.
Urban Financial Group came in third, with business falling to 584 HECMs from 675.
One Reverse Mortgage LLC moved up to the No. 4 slot at 430 HECM endorsements, then BofA’s 390 fundings.
Retail reverse mortgage lenders closed 3,106 HECMs during May, down from the previous month’s 3,704 but an improvement from May 2010, when retail production totaled just 2,465.
In the wholesale HECM sector, business fell to 2,079 fundings from 2,415 in April and 2,086 during May 2010.
MetLife topped the list of wholesale HECM originators with 310 endorsements in May. That was an improvement from 227 third-party loans closed in April.
The second-biggest wholesaler was Urban Financial, where business fell to 304 HECMs from the prior month’s 447.
Genworth Financial Home Equity followed with 161 loans, then Generation Mortgage Co.’s 101 HECMs and Financial Freedom’s 79 closings.
