Firm reveals servicing revenue losses in Q4
Ocwen Financial, a nonbank mortgage servicer and originator, said Wednesday that Oaktree Capital Management had agreed to purchase $250 million of its debt.
The nonbank said that it will use $100 million of the investment to pay down existing debts, while the remaining $150 million will support the company’s growth efforts in servicing and diversifying its origination channels. Ocwen said that may include additional acquisitions.
In December, Ocwen and Oaktree partnered to launch an MSR asset vehicle to acquire Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage servicing rights. This, combined with the recent investment deal with Oaktree, is expected to provide Ocwen up to $463 million of capital to accelerate growth and reduce capital structure risk.
“We have successfully transformed Ocwen into a balanced and diversified mortgage originator and servicer that is well-positioned for profitable growth,” said Glen Messina, president and CEO of Ocwen. “The actions taken to maintain our cost leadership position and execute on a multi-channel growth strategy are driving improved profitability, record originations growth, and continued strong operating performance in our servicing business.”
The firm lost $7.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, a slight improvement from its $9.4 million net loss in the previous quarter. Most of those losses were due to adjustments to MSR valuations, which reduced servicing revenues. Ocwen originated $10 billion of mortgages in Q4, almost 50% higher than in Q3. However, its margins continued to plunge, down to 56 bps in the fourth quarter.
“Looking ahead, we are focused on sustainable long-term profitability by accelerating our growth trajectory, strengthening recapture performance, improving our cost leadership position, maintaining high-quality operational execution and expanding servicing revenue opportunities,” Messina said.
