Ally Bank has reached a deal to unload mortgage servicing rights on more than $100 billion in residential loans. It has also completed the sale of its third-party origination platform.
The Midvale, Utah-based company said Tuesday that it reached an agreement to sell servicing rights on an $85 billion agency servicing portfolio.
In addition, MSRs on another $5 billion in agency loans that Ally originated through the end of February will be sold.
The buyer in the transaction, Ocwen Financial Corp., will pay around $585 million for the MSRs.
The deal also gives the bank the right to sell MSRs on its remaining $30 billion agency servicing portfolio in a subsequent closing. The Ally Financial Inc. subsidiary is still considering other bids for this portfolio — which includes loans that can soon be refinanced.
As part of the agreement, Ocwen will take over the representation and warranty liabilities associated with a majority of the loans sold.
The MSR sale, which is subject to approval by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is expected to closed in states over the next few months.
Ocwen has been aggressively building its servicing portfolio through acquisitions, including the purchase of Homeward Residential Holdings Inc. in December, which boosted its portfolio by $77 billion; the April 2012 acquisition of MSRs on $22 billion in loans from Saxon Mortgage Services Inc.; the September 2011 acquisition of Litton Loan Servicing LP; and the acquisition of HomEq Servicing in May 2010.
Ocwen also expects to acquire MSRs on another $127 billion in loans from former Ally-subsidiary Residential Capital LLC, while it reached an agreement in February to acquire ClearPoint Funding Inc.
The Atlanta-based company, however, unloaded $0.1 billion in non-performing loans last month. Altisource Residential Corp.
Ally additionally announced that it completed the sale of its correspondent and wholesale broker mortgage operation to Walter Investment Management Corp. on Feb. 28.
“Ally continues to make significant progress in exiting its non-strategic mortgage activities,” Ally Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Barbara Yastine said in the news release. “Going forward, the bank’s full focus and resources will be centered on its leading direct banking franchise and advancing its customer-centric deposit activities, as well as continuing to grow its key role in Ally’s auto finance operation.”
