I am not concerned about the reverse mortgage business at all. It has been showing great strength in Australia and I have no doubt it will do so again post COVID, in Australia at least. NZ seems much slower on the uptake.
We need to remain mindful of the fact that these numbers are for 4 months only and during a pandemic when large parts of the target market for this product, has been in lockdown or self imposed social isolation.
The RMs are mainly used for "nice to haves" such as housing upgrades, vehicle upgrades or travel, all of which require interactions with people outside of one's bubble. Clearly that has had negative effect on the RM business for obvious reasons, but in my view it is a temporary blip that will quickly return to normal once COVID is dealt with next year.