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CSBS and AARMR issue reverse mortgage examination guidelinesMortgagePress.comCSBS, AARMR, reverse mortgage, examination guidelines, Reverse Mortgage Examination Guidelines, Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) have released examination guidelines for reviewing the business practices and operations of lenders and brokers selling reverse mortgage loans to seniors. CSBS and AARMR said state mortgage regulators should begin to use the Reverse Mortgage Examination Guidelines (RMEGs) in early 2009. A reverse mortgage is secured by a lien on the residential real estate in which the older loan recipient does not make payments until the homeowner leaves the property. "Reverse mortgages are an area of emerging risk for consumers, and the states are aggressively getting ahead of the curve, just as the states were ahead of the curve on consumer protection when we began building the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System five years ago," said Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary of Banking David Bleicken. The examination guidelines cover all aspects of operations from policies and procedures to marketing, underwriting, quality control and servicing of a reverse mortgage portfolio. "These loans are complex and marketed to a potentially vulnerable target audience, increasing the need for strong consumer protections," said Chief Risk Officer of the Massachusetts Division of Banks John Prendergast, who chairs the CSBS/AARMR Task Force on Reverse Mortgages. For a copy of the guidelines, click here.