SEATTLE: The reverse mortgage (equity release) sector has an image problem. The sector is going backwards in almost all western country markets. A name change is not going to work (akin to the insurance industry adjusting the funeral expenses product to the ‘final expenses’ euphemism).
Self-regulation hasn’t persuaded the over 50s to trust lenders, and government regulation won’t help. Statistics gathered from 12 countries show the take up rate is down an average of 24 percent from last year…