Reverse mortgage servicing company Celink has renewed a multiyear subservicing contract agreement with leading industry lender Finance of America Reverse (FAR). Specific terms of the deal, including the full renewal term, were not disclosed.
Celink said in a statement that the new contract will renew the subservicing agreement “for years to come,” extending an accord in place since 2011.
“Celink looks forward to continuing this decade-long relationship with Finance of America Reverse,” said Marion McDougall, CEO of Celink. “With this renewal, we are extending our partnership and joint focus toward making industry-wide improvements for the reverse mortgage product and providing excellent service for seniors.”
Celink also renewed its subservicing agreement with top 10 lender Longbridge Financial in the summer of 2022 and established a subservicing relationship with Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation in early 2022.
The renewal agreement comes after a period of change for both companies. Last year, Celink was awarded the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) servicing contract by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) despite pushback by the previous contract holder. Celink assumed its duties in December 2022.
On the other hand, FAR’s parent company has shifted its focus almost entirely to reverse mortgages following Finance of America Companies (FOA) shutting down its forward mortgage business, Finance of America Mortgage (FAM), late last year.
FAR also announced in December that it intends to purchase certain American Advisors Group (AAG) assets, removing a Ginnie Mae HECM-backed Securities (HMBS) issuer from the business and consolidating two of the largest players in the space.
According to partner instructions and a recent Q4 2022 earnings call, FAR intends to close the deal to acquire AAG on March 31 and noted that it had passed regulatory scrutiny.
“AAG is the largest HECM originator, while we are the largest proprietary originator, making it a strategic fit within our company and our focus,” FOA President and interim CEO Graham Fleming said on the earnings call.
