Ocwen Responds to Suit from CFPB, 21 States

The servicing issues at Ocwen Financial are allegedly so widespread that some states are placing stricter restrictions on the nonbank, beyond freezing the company’s ability to acquire new mortgage servicing rights.

On Thursday, a group of state business regulators issued joint cease-and-desist orders to Ocwen. The main announcement from the states shows that an examination into Ocwen’s servicing shows “several violations of state and federal law, including, but not limited to, consumer escrow accounts that could not be reconciled and willful and ongoing unlicensed activity in certain states.”

The orders also showed that the regulators are concerned with Ocwen’s ability to continue operating due to financial constraints, an issue that Ocwen denies.

The orders prohibit the acquisition of new mortgage servicing rights and the origination of mortgage loans by Ocwen Loan Servicing, a subsidiary of Ocwen, until the company is “able to prove it can appropriately manage its consumer mortgage escrow accounts.”

However, HousingWire analysis of each state’s cease-and-desist order or accompanying press release, show that some states’ regulators are restricting Ocwen’s business much further than that.

In fact, in one state, Ocwen has basically been put of out business entirely.

All in all, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming each placed restrictions on Ocwen’s business, according to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

But several states’ restrictions were not equal to the others– namely Massachusetts and South Dakota.

According to the announcement from the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation’s Division of Banks, Ocwen is not only no longer allowed to acquire new mortgage servicing rights, the company is also no longer allowed to service mortgages in the state, at all.

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