Despite home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) retail endorsements dropping double digits in November, total endorsements edged slightly upward thanks to a big boost by wholesale growth, reports Reverse Market Insight’s HECM Originators newsletter.

With Wells Fargo’s presence growing ever fainter, HECM retail endorsements dipped 11.8% in November, but total endorsements stayed steady with a 0.2% growth thanks to wholesale endorsements shooting up 22.7%. This “stunning disparity,” says RMI, “brought wholesale/third-part originator share of the total market to the highest level in over a year at 42.5%.”

Source: Reverse Market Insights, HECM Originators

Although October’s breakdown between wholesale and retail was somewhat unexpected, as wholesale volume actually declined more than retail, November’s numbers brought the industry “full circle as the second half of Wells volume decline saw wholesale/TPO rise to the challenge of replacing the former market leader,” says RMI.

November was a good month for most of the top lenders, too, as all but two of the eight largest active lenders (not considering Wells Fargo and Bank of America) showed gains, according to the report.

Only One Reverse Mortgage and Security One Lending saw their volume drop, while MetLife’s endorsements went up nearly 41% in the month, followed by Genworth Financial’s nearly 39% increase.

Outside of the top ten, reverse mortgage lenders like Money House, iReverse, and Cherry Creek posted triple-digit gains.

View the November HECM Originators newsletter here.

Written by Alyssa Gerace