As we keep rolling through the dog days of summer, the news hasn’t slowed down in the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage world. Here’s a look at some of the top stories of the past week to get you ready for the last five workdays before the long Labor Day weekend.
Wells Fargo Closes Book on Reverse Mortgages with Final Servicing Transfer — Once the dominant player in the HECM marketplace, Wells Fargo will completely exit the reverse mortgage space on September 1, when its remaining reverse mortgage servicing rights will fully transfer to Champion Mortgage. The two parties agreed on the deal, which includes 80,000 loans, in 2016.
HUD Vacancies Remain as Reverse Mortgage Final Rule Approaches — RMD provided this handy guide to who’s in and who’s out at HUD, which remains without a Federal Housing Administration commissioner and other key leaders.
CFPB Issues Warning on Using Reverse Mortgages to Delay Social Security — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took aim at a major financial-planning use for reverse mortgages: delaying Social Security payments. In the CFPB’s analysis, the costs of a HECM outweigh the incremental increases in Social Security payments gained by holding out and using the loan proceeds as a replacement.
Answer to LIBOR Issue Written in Reverse Mortgage Notes, Questions Remain — RMD checked back in on LIBOR, which is slated to disappear in five years. HUD allows lenders to switch up the rate to a new approved index in the absence of LIBOR, RMD learned, but questions remain about what the replacement might be.
AAG Hires New Vice President of Operations — Top HECM lender American Advisors Group added to its team this week, bringing aboard a Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and AXA Equitable veteran to serve as its vice president of operations.
Written by Alex Spanko
