Subservicing

Despite an overall weak mortgage originations market, Flagstar Bancorp's third-quarter earnings grew 20%, due in large part to its ongoing efforts to diversify operations.

From investor angst to regulatory scrutiny, here's a look at three obstacles that must be addressed before Ocwen Financial can acquire PHH Mortgage.

Ocwen Financial Corp.'s acquisition of PHH Corp. will help the nonbank servicer rebuild scale that's been diminished by years of regulatory restrictions and the decline in distressed mortgage volume brought about by improvements in the overall housing market.

From accelerating its subservicing transformation to overcoming regulatory obstacles, here's a look at three reasons behind Ocwen Financial Corp.'s $360 million acquisition of PHH Corp.

PHH Corp. agreed to a $45 million settlement to resolve allegations from 49 states and the District of Columbia that it engaged in "foreclosure process abuses" involving "inconsistent signatures" in its servicing business from 2009 to 2012. The settlement comes as the nonbank mortgage company continues its legal challenge to a separate regulatory action by the CFPB.

The portfolio of conforming loans is currently being subserviced by Nationstar Mortgage Holdings on behalf of Seneca Mortgage Investments.

In an echo of the rescue deals of 2007 and 2008, New Residential's CEO framed the transaction as something undertaken to benefit the entire industry.

The onslaught of regulatory actions against Ocwen may open the door for Nationstar to pick up a massive subservicing portfolio from the beleaguered servicer.

Citi has named David Chubak as head of global retail banking and mortgage for the global consumer bank, replacing Jonathan Larsen, who resigned late last year.