It was only the second time in the past eight months that U.S. lenders improved reverse mortgage production. Volume at the second-biggest retail lender was less than half of No. 1’s.
The origination of home-equity conversion mortgages totaled 5,901 loans last month, Reverse Market Insight reported. Volume, including wholesale and retail, was up for the second consecutive month from 5,304 units during June.
But business was a whole lot better in July 2009, when HECM fundings were 9,830.
From Jan. 1 to July 31, reverse production was 41,745 mortgages.
On a retail-only basis, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., flew by all of its competitors in July to close 1,383 reverse mortgages. Volume was up more than a quarter from 1,077 units closed in June.
A distant second was Bank of America, N.A., where volume slipped to 563 loans from 641.
No. 3 MetLife Bank closed 395 HECMs, then Genworth Financial Home Equity’s 269 fundings and One Reverse Mortgage LLC’s 263 closings.
The number of reverse mortgage lenders that are active slid to 1,887 from 2,602 last year.
