Ocwen Financial Corp. agreed to sell servicing rights on a $25 billion portfolio of home loans and said it's out of compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing standards.
The portfolio is being sold to Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. and includes approximately 142,000 loans owned by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, according to a statement Tuesday from Atlanta-basedOcwen that didn't disclose terms.
Chief Executive Officer Ronald Faris is shrinking the company amid regulatory scrutiny and complaints from consumers and bond investors. Ocwen said Monday it had received a letter from NYSE Regulation Inc. about the company's listing status. The servicer missed a deadline to complete its 10K, and the company said it can't give a date for when the filing will be made.
Ocwen slipped 10 percent to $7.90 in early trading at 7:54 a.m. in New York. A December settlement with Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, preventsOcwen from acquiring more servicing rights until it improves its processes.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is buying the right to handle $45 billion of mortgages from Ocwen, a person familiar with the deal said earlier this month. Nationstar reached a separate agreement last month withOcwen for a $9.8 billion servicing portfolio.
The latest deal "on top of the one announced in February between Ocwen and Nationstar, furthers our announced corporate strategy and demonstrates the strong working relationship we have developed with Nationstar," Faris said in the statement.
