The Pennsylvania Department of Banking published a statement of policy last week that implements new guidelines for companies under its jurisdiction that originate and service reverse mortgages that includes a suitability standard and determination of mental capacity.

NRMLA's legal counsel, Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider, produced the following memo on the financial services reform bill recently signed into law by President Obama.

HUD has published the long-awaited HECM counseling protocol. We've summarized some of the important parts and provided a copy to download. At the bottom of the memo is an update published by FHA that noted some inconsistencies in the protocol.

NRMLA is pleased to announce that we've been successful in getting over the next hurdle in the appropriations challenge faced by our industry.

Below is a tracking chart showing all legislation introduced so far this year by state legislatures that impacts reverse mortgages.

As a benefit of membership, NRMLA has organized a series of FREE webinars for the balance of the year covering important topics beneficial to the growth your reverse mortgage business.

To better understand the current lending environment that we're operating in, it's important that members have access to the various speeches, reports and articles dealing with reverse mortgages that have been published recently.

If you weren't able to attend the Irvine Roadshow, you can at least review the powerpoint presentations.

Following is a more detailed analysis of the monthly HECM data published by HUD prepared by Reverse Market Insight.

FHA insured 5,304 reverse mortgages in June (60,603 overall for FY 2010), compared with 8,633 loans endorsed a year ago (86,541 total).

NRMLA is proud to announce the first class of members who have met all the qualifications and have received their Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional designations.

Prior to this morning’s official mark-up session, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, included an $150 million appropriation for the HECM program in the proposed FY 2011 HUD budget.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed a reverse mortgage consumer protection bill into law on June 21, 2010.

At its meeting in conjunction with its Washington Policy Conference last week, the Board of Directors of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association unanimously elected Cheryl MacNally of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and John Nixon of Bank of America as its new Co-chairs.

Jiggles and adjustments are being made to the structure of the HECM program to assure that the FHA insurance fund is revenue neutral and self sustaining for each year’s book of business.

HUD published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking announcing that it seeks to clarify the prohibition against requiring the use of affiliated settlement service providers in residential mortgage loan transactions under Section 8 of RESPA.

The May-June Issue is available for download. Stories include: A Passionate Civil Servant: The Twenty-Year Legacy of Meg Burns; A Year in the Life of a HECM; Filling the Data Void; Evolution or Revolution: Tech Providers Discuss New Innovations