The largest subservicer of reverse mortgages marked another business milestone this week by appointing its first inside counsel.
Martha Belcher joined the Lansing, Mich.-based Celink as its executive vice president and general counsel.
“Using outside counsel has been effective for Celink, and Martha will manage those valuable partners to help us navigate during this very exciting time of Celink’s growth,” CEO Jason McNamara said in a statement announcing Belcher’s hire.
“In-house counsel enhances Celink’s service offering, and our clients are very excited about Martha coming on board,” McNamara said.
Belcher has held a variety of roles in the reverse mortgage space, including executive-level stints at CIT Bank and OneWest — both of which had been parent companies of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lender Financial Freedom — as well as Fannie Mae. She has also been an outside counsel at Foster Pepper, a law firm in the Pacific Northwest, and a partner at Arnold & Porter, a Washington, D.C.-based firm.
“It is terrific becoming a part of the Celink team,” Belcher said in the statement. “I look forward to using my knowledge and experience to further support Celink’s leadership role in this important and dynamic industry.”
Back in October, Celink won the right to subservice the $900 million Financial Freedom portfolio of reverse mortgages, which CIT Group sold to an undisclosed buyer. Former Financial Freedom employees were being transitioned to the Celink team, sources confirmed to RMD.
Written by Alex Spanko
