Reverse Mortgage Jan-Feb 2021

From the Top sky’s the limit. There’s a lot of work to be done to educate the general public, to knock down the misperceptions and the bad press that persist and to really work to get this to be much more of a mainstream product. RM: What were the motivating factors for Mutual of Omaha to offer reverse mortgages? TC: From the time I joined Mutual of Omaha in 2014, there was always this interest in the reverse mortgage product, simply because of the demographic that the insurance company served, the senior-aged customer. There was always this intrigue about the product and how it could fit into a broader financial plan or a broader offering to that demographic of the customer base. Beginning in 2014, we started having conversations about how this product was different from the one that existed prior to 2008 and what the risks were getting into the business. We were very fortunate to eventually cross paths with Torrey and Tyler Larsen, who managed Synergy One. It was a cultural fit. We loved the leadership team. That side of our business has really taken off. We’re very proud to offer reverse mortgages. It’s a life-changing product to many Americans. RM: 2020 was a year of transition. Mutual of Omaha Bank was sold to CIT and the mortgage division, which includes reverse mortgages, was placed under Mutual of Omaha Insurance. You were also promoted to president of the mortgage company. What led to the restructuring? How has it worked out so far? TC: The restructuring where Mutual of Omaha Mortgage shifted and became a subsidiary underneath the insurance company was obviously brought on by the sale of Mutual of Omaha Bank to CIT. At that time, the insurance company looked at the mortgage company and thought it was an asset and a business line they wanted to hold onto to serve their customers. The support of Mutual of Omaha Insurance has been tremendous. There are millions of customers of the insurance company who could benefit from either a traditional forward mortgage or a reverse mortgage. We want to be able to offer either product to our existing customers. On the flip side, we’re acquiring a lot of customers each month who we think could probably benefit from product offerings that the insurance company offers. It’s really been a nice fit. It has only been nine months, so there’s a lot of work to do, but we’re starting to have some success. The transition of me moving to be president was the other part of that question. And really, it’s been a non-event. Torrey is still actively involved doing many of the things he was doing before. I’m just able to take a little bit of the day-to-day operations off his plate, so he can focus on strategy and business development. RM: Are the people who work in the insurance division aware of the reverse mortgage? TC: Yes, that has been a major focus to educate our internal partners on reverse mortgages and how they could benefit some of their customers. We’re partnering with other business units to seek opportunities to take care of their customers and also to refer some of our customers to them for other financial and insurance products that they might need. But it doesn’t happen overnight. You’d like to think that you can send out an email and say, ‘Hey, here’s what we have to offer,’ but it’s not that easy. RM: Besides reverse mortgages, what other loan prod- ucts does the mortgage division offer? How large is your staff? How many states are you licensed? Do you keep the forward and reverse mortgage businesses separated? TC: In addition to reverse mortgages, we have a fairly large forward division. Most of our forward business is direct-to- consumer and includes a full suite of mortgage products, including conventional conforming, government and jumbo. The entire staff of Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, forward and reverse, is somewhere between 1,100 and 1,200 employees. We are licensed in 48 states. Your question about whether we keep the forward and reverse sides separate, the simple answer is yes. Our forward loan officers originate forward loans that are processed, underwritten and closed by a dedicated team that only handles forward business. The reverse business is the same. But, we do refer clients back and forth. When we are working with borrowers, we’re very aware that a customer From the Top continued from page 11 12 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021