Ocwen Agrees to Buy $78B in MSRs from OneWest

Ocwen Loan Servicing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ocwen Financial Corporation, has entered into an agreement to purchase $78 billion in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) from OneWest Bank.

According to a filing made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the aggregate purchase price for the MSRs will be approximately $2.53 billion, with $446 million paid in respect of the MSRs and approximately $2.1 billion to be paid in respect of the servicing advances.

Ocwen plans to finance the transaction primarily with a combination of cash on-hand, cash generated through operations, and available credit, the company said. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2013, and Ocwen expects the majority of loans will be boarded onto its primary servicing platform.

The purchase is another major growth step for Atlanta-based Ocwen, already one of the country’s largest servicers. In just the last few months, the company announced the acquisition of agency mortgage rights from Ally and the purchase of Liberty Home Equity Solutions, the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lender.