NRMLA co-chairs offer industry advocacy update

Kicking off the first 2025 event held by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Tuesday morning in Irvine, Calif., the association’s co-chairs offered an update on the industry’s advocacy efforts.

Mike Kent and Jim Cory – SVP of corporate development and industry relations at Liberty Reverse Mortgage and managing director of reverse at Guild Mortgage, respectively – welcomed industry members to the association’s first event but wasted little time in assessing the current advocacy landscape for the reverse mortgage business.

NRMLA President Steve Irwin opened the proceedings by describing a tough environment for the industry, due in no small part to interest rates and wider economic uncertainty that impacts the ability and confidence from potential borrowers to move forward.

Kent concurred, but added that the importance of the advocacy work is necessary to keep the industry moving forward and functional, while also communicating to those in power what the reverse mortgage industry can do for U.S. seniors, and how the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program can be a tool for older Americans confronted by high costs on a fixed income.

The association, Kent explained, made a transition late last year when it separated from its longtime management company to become an independent organization. Over the past few months, Irwin and the team at NRMLA have met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to communicate the reverse mortgage industry’s positions on certain issues and the work it has done on behalf of clients.

These meetings include with Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), who also serves on that committee. NRMLA also met with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), with Gottheimer having recently collaborated on anti-fraud legislation for older Americans and Flood participating with lawmakers across the aisle on housing issues.

NRMLA also met with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who is seen as a lawmaker who understand the dynamics of the HECM program, as well as Banking Committee member Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). NRMLA has also been in conversation with officials at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and potential HECM program changes.

The legislative work is secondary to the work involving collaboration with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and NRMLA has been in contact with the department’s deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing, Matt Jones, who is fulfilling the function of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner prior to a nominee from the president being named.

Kent described Jones as a “strong supporter of the HECM program,” and it was discussed how work that helped the program under the prior administration might be continued, particularly on the front of liquidity.

NRMLA is also in the process of meeting with leadership at Ginnie Mae, including acting president Gregory Keith and Joe Gormley, who was recently named the government-owned company’s EVP and COO.

“Joe is another supporter of the program, and we think we have some work that we can do with Ginnie Mae to further improve liquidity in the Ginnie Mae space,” Kent said.

But the work being done is not just about subsistence and stability, but also about facilitating the future, Kent said.

“There’s more to it than just making sure that the program and the MMI Fund is sustainable for the long term, or to ensure that the program continues on,” Kent said. “There’s more to it than just trying to find ways to improve the program, to bring more people under the tent to participate in the program. We also look at what’s next.”