MetLife Bids Adieu to Forward Mortgage Business

MetLife Inc. has announced  that it is exiting the business of originating forward residential mortgages. MetLife Home Loans, the residential mortgage division of MetLife Bank NA, will no longer accept new loan applications for forward mortgages. MetLife Home Loans continues to originate reverse mortgages. MetLife Home Loans will continue to service its current mortgage customers. In addition, MetLife Home Loans will honor all contractual commitments for loans in process and expects the majority of loans to close in 90 days. MetLife expects $90 to $110 million, after tax, in costs related to exiting the business to be incurred over the next year, with no expected impact on the company’s operating earnings. On Dec. 27, MetLife announced that GE Capital Financial Inc. had agreed to acquire most of MetLife Bank’s depository business, including certificates of deposit and money market accounts. MetLife’s entire retail banking business, including mortgages, represented under two percent of MetLife’s 2011 operating earnings as of Sept. 30.