“Overall industry weakness remains a concern, and the short-term shutdown at the beginning of the month is another possible reason, but it also reminds us of the larger issue that reverse HECM loans are hitting the margins of HECM volume more directly these days than ever before,” RMI explained.
Currently, New View Advisors he said the number of approvals for February was the lowest since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when 1,601 approvals were recorded in April 2020.
Complete data on the impact of falling commodity products is not publicly available, leaving analysts to rely heavily on anecdotal accounts and market observations.
By region, no area posted gains in February. The New York/New Jersey region, however, recorded the smallest decline, down 1% to 100 loan approvals. The Midwest followed with a decrease of 3.3% to 174. All other regions posted declines of at least 11.4%, with the Northwest/Alaska region down 37.4%.
Among the top 10 lenders, all reported low approval rates. American Finance saw a slight decline in the group, down 8.5% to 364. Longbridge Financial share price followed by a 9% decline to 304, while the other eight major lenders posted declines ranging from 15.9% to 49.6%.
Release of HMBS dips
New View Advisors also reported that issuance of HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) fell in February, falling to $431 million during the month. That’s down $103 million from January’s revised figure of $534 million and $39 million lower than the $470 million issued in February 2025.
66 lakes were released, five less than January.
February’s total of $431 million marks the lowest monthly issuance in two years, the second lowest since 2014 and the third lowest since 2009, New View reported.
Among issuers, Finance of America led the market with $140 million in February issuance, down $15 million from its $155 million total in January. Longbridge Financial followed with $104 million, a decrease of $38 million month over month. Mutual of Omaha Mortgage grossed $83 million, down $12 million from January, the season Company PHH Mortgage Corp. generated $66 million, a monthly decrease of $23 million.
Actual, or initial, production reached $260 million in February, down $97 million from January’s $357 million and $43 million below the February 2025 figure of $303 million.
In the first two months of 2026, Finance of America led the first joint issuance with $179 million, followed by Longbridge with $165 million, Mutual of Omaha with $120 million and PHH with $85 million.
Of the 66 pools issued in February, 16 were initial participation pools, and 48 were tail pools, which include subsequent participation instead of new loans. Tailgating reached $169 million, compared to $176 million in January.
Twenty-one pools had balances of less than $1 million, reflecting spending by issuers Ginny MaeProvisions allowing pools as small as $250,000. In addition, the $49.7 million in participations consolidated during the month included multiple participations from the same loan, a practice permitted under the 2023 guidance.
The data was compiled by New View consultants using publicly available Ginnie Mae data and confidential sources.
