The parent company of reverse mortgage lender Financial Freedom (OneWest Bank) purchased La Jolla Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) last week.
La Jolla Bank, FSB had approximately $3.6 billion in total assets and $2.8 billion in total deposits as of December 31, 2009 said the FDIC.   

Wholesale reverse mortgage volume came in at 3,900 units in November, down 17% from October.  November’s volume is the lowest the industry has seen in 2009 and brings YTD total to 54,609.
MetLife retained its #1 spot in November with 1,123 units but still saw its volume decline a bit from October.

OneWest Bank announced Friday afternoon that it purchased the banking operations of First Federal Bank of California from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Under the terms of the transaction, OneWest acquired $6.1 billion in assets, including $5.3 billion in loans, and $4.5 billion in deposits of First Fed.  OneWest also picks up 72 [...]

Investment funds are buying up billions of dollars worth of loans discounted from the original value and are reducing homeowners mortgage balances to enable borrowers to refinance into FHA loans.
This allows the firms to generate pocket sizable profits by reselling new government-insured and then bundling the mortgages into securities for sale to investors says [...]

Financial Freedom sent out a notice earlier this week announcing it was increasing net worth requirements for wholesale correspondents.  According to the notice:
Beginning 2010 you will be required to maintain a minimum net worth of $100,000 (with 50% liquidity) to continue to be eligible. In addition, Financial Freedom will also be implementing minimum production requirements.

Wholesale reverse mortgage volume for the month of September totaled 5,567 units, up 6.1% from August and marking the 6th highest wholesale volume month on record according to data from Reverse Market Insight. 
For fiscal year 2009, wholesale endorsements totaled 60,798, dropping just under 1% from FY 2008.  Financial Freedom took home the #1 reverse [...]

Underscoring the confusion that continues to surround tax and insurance issue with reverse mortgages is the recent case of a Michigan couple who found themselves in default due to unpaid property taxes and no property insurance in place.
Despite later obtaining insurance, the couple’s default had produced a demand from the lender, Financial Freedom, for [...]