All of us at New View Advisors join our friends at Bingham McCutchen and the entire securitization community in mourning the loss of Ed Gainor, who passed away on July 22nd. Ed was a securities lawyer par excellence, and he was instrumental in the birth of the reverse mortgage capital markets. Ed was a teacher and mentor to many securitization lawyers who, we have no doubt, will carry the torch for reverse mortgages and securitization.
Ed did not flinch when asked to lead the legal team for the first reverse mortgage securitization in 1999. It was a daunting task. The legal hurdles seemed as insurmountable as the financial puzzle: the form the trust would take, how it would accommodate borrower draws, and how it could accommodate a unique FASIT tax vehicle. These were all unanswered questions that Ed, along with his partners and his team, tackled one by one. I remember well Ed’s enthusiasm on the closing day: “Let’s close the first reverse mortgage securitization right now!”
This was just one of Ed’s many accomplishments. He was the rare professional who could execute transactions, solve problems, but also take a step back and say: “Where do we go from here?” He was a leader in preparing the securitization industry for its next phase. I hope we do right by him. Ed Gainor was a most excellent lawyer, raconteur, and good friend. R.I.P.
