MetLife Bank released an updated version of its origination platform Monday to offer borrowers the HECM Saver option for a reverse mortgage. MetLife is the first reported lender to integrate this option into its system. The HECM Saver is a new product from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development which lowers a borrower’s mortgage insurance premium to .01%. Borrowers pay so little upfront because the amount of money available to them through the program, the “principal limit,” is substantially reduced; approximately 10% to 18%. Robert Sivori and Craig Corn, vice presidents of MetLife’s Reverse Mortgage Division, lead the transition. MetLife’s proprietary software platform, Tango, now displays the HECM Saver option alongside its point-of-sale, processing, ordering and closing services. HECM Saver is available to the company’s retail, wholesale and correspondent lending channels. MetLife Bank also absorbs the MIP for the HECM Saver and waves the origination and servicing fees for both the HECM Saver and HECM Standard products. This is the first day that lenders are eligible to offer the HECM Saver option to clients, as the HUD fiscal year began on Oct. 1. Sivori told HousingWire in an exclusive interview MetLife had been waiting for the opportunity to roll the product out. “We’ve anticipated these types of changes for a long time,” Sivori said, “so our foundation was in place to implement this on such short notice.” Sivori said having the HECM Saver will open MetLife up to a different type of borrower. He cited that 24 million households in the U.S. are theoretically eligible for reverse mortgages, but the HECM Standard only appealed to a small section of that. “We think providing borrowers with more choices rather than fewer expands the marketplace,” Sivori said. “With HECM Saver, reverse mortgages can be an option for a larger percentage of those 24 million households.” MetLife Bank is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc., a mortgage insurance and financial services firm based in New York City. MetLife Bank is based in Bridgewater, NJ. Write to Christine Ricciardi.