Ocwen Closes Deal for Genworth's Reverse-Mortgage Unit

Ocwen Financial (OCN) has completed its purchase of the reverse mortgage lender Liberty Home Equity Solutions from Genworth Financial (GNW).

Ocwen announced the $22 million deal for Liberty, formerly Genworth Financial Home Equity Access, in October. The closing was announced Wednesday.

Liberty, based in Sacramento, Calif., offers reverse mortgages through direct, wholesale and correspondent channels. It was the No. 3 reverse mortgage lender in the country in 2012, according to data from Reverse Market Insights.

Ocwen has been aggressively building its mortgage lending and servicing operations through deals. Last October it agreed to buy the mortgage servicer Homeward Residential Holdings from WL Ross & Co. for $750 million. That same month Ocwen and its partner Walter Investment Management won a bidding war for Residential Capital Corp., agreeing to pay $3 billion for the mortgage servicing unit of ResCap, a bankrupt unit of Ally Financial.

In February it reached a deal to buy ClearPoint, the mortgage lending unit of the New York investment bank Gleacher (GLCH). Last month it agreed to pay $585 million for the majority of Ally's servicing rights.

"Liberty is the industry leader in helping seniors secure their retirement with strong customer service and superior quality," Ocwen Chief Executive Ronald Faris said in a news release. "We believe this promising market offers enormous long-term growth potential, and this purchase positions Ocwen to capture that growth."