In a flat year for HECMs, Mutual of Omaha topped the 2025 leaderboard

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage led originations for the federal reverse mortgage program in 2025, a year in which Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements faced a 43-day shutdown and overall volume remained relatively flat compared to 2024.

Mutual of Omaha endorsed 447 HECMs in December, bringing its total for all of 2025 to 5,740 loans, down from 6,149 in 2024, according to data compiled by Reverse Market Insight (RMI). Last year, the company also entered the proprietary reverse mortgage market with its April launch of SecureEquity+.

Finance of America (FOA) followed with 352 loans in December and 5,107 for the year, down from 5,946 in 2024. But the company has continued to invest in growth, including a recent agreement to acquire $9.6 billion in mortgage servicing rights from Onity Group.

The transaction will result in Onity’s subsidiary, Liberty Reverse Mortgage, exiting the reverse mortgage origination business. In December, Liberty closed 105 loans, bringing its 2025 total to 1,166 and ranking fifth nationally. That marked a decline from 2024, when the company ranked fourth with 1,125 loans.

Meanwhile, Longbridge Financial, owned by Ellington Financial, originated 404 loans in December and 4,146 in 2025, up from 3,299 the prior year. In September, the company officially launched a home equity line of credit (HELOC) for homeowners ages 62 and older.

Together, the top three lenders accounted for approximately 55.8% of all HECM endorsements in 2025, compared to 57.4% in 2024.

The top 10 lenders — which also include Goodlife Home Loans, Fairway Home Mortgage, South River Mortgage, Guild Mortgage, Plaza Home Mortgage and HighTechLending—maintained a combined market share of roughly 79%.

Back to business in December

Following the longest-ever federal government shutdown in October and November, HECM endorsements increased 12% in December compared to their average for the prior two months, RMI reported.

In total, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured 2,186 loans during the month, “confirming that the entire endorsement backlog was cleared — or at least that the program returned to relative normalcy,” according to RMI.

Total endorsements for full-year 2025 reached 26,843, essentially unchanged from 26,834 in 2024.

In a separate report released Monday, New View Advisors said HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) issuance cooled in December, falling to $481 million, down from $517 million in November. A total of 65 pools were issued, one more than in November.

For full-year 2025, HMBS issuance totaled $6.19 billion, exceeding 2024’s $6.05 billion, when the program recorded its lowest annual volume since its inception in 2008. The record year remains 2022, with $14 billion in issuance.

Top HMBS issuers

FOA was the top HMBS issuer in December with $149 million, down $19 million from November. Longbridge followed with $120 million, a $4 million decline, while Mutual of Omaha issued $88 million, down $6 million.

PHH Mortgage Corp. issued $73 million, $6 million less than in November. The Ginnie Mae–controlled Reverse Mortgage Funding portfolio once again did not issue any HMBS pools, according to New View.

First-participation HMBS production totaled $292 million in December, down from $333 million in November. The 65 pools issued during the month included 19 original pools, 45 tail pools, and one pool containing both first participations and tails.

Original pools are backed by first participations in previously uncertificated HECM loans, while tail pools consist of subsequent participations. Tail issuance totaled $189 million, up from $184 million in November.

Notably, 16 December pools had aggregate balances below $1 million, made possible by Ginnie Mae rules allowing pools as small as $250,000. These pools represented $9 million in unpaid principal balance (UPB) that might not otherwise have been issued.

Ginnie Mae’s APM 23-11, introduced in 2023, also allows participations from the same loan to be pooled more than once in the same month. Such pools represented $63.9 million in December, including $6.4 million in first participations.