UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2022
OR
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
| For the transition period from: ____________________ to ____________________ | |||||
Commission File No. 1-13219
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||||||||||
| (Address of principal executive office) | (Zip Code) | ||||||||||
(561 ) 682-8000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act: Not applicable.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:
| Large Accelerated filer | ☐ | ☒ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ||||||||||||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||||||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act) Yes ☐ No x
Aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity of the registrant held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2022: $244,195,677
Number of shares of common stock outstanding as of February 24, 2023: 7,527,443 shares
OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION
2022 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this report, including statements regarding our financial position, business strategy and other plans and objectives for our future operations, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by a reference to a future period or by the use of forward-looking terminology. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “expect”, “believe”, “foresee”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “estimate”, “goal”, “strategy”, “plan”, “target” and “project” or conditional verbs such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “could” or “would” or the negative of these terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Readers should bear these factors in mind when considering forward-looking statements and should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by such statements. In the past, actual results have differed from those suggested by forward-looking statements and this may happen again. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed under Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors and the following:
•the potential for ongoing disruption in the financial markets and in commercial activity generally related to changes in monetary and fiscal policy, international events including the conflict in Ukraine and other sources of instability;
•the impacts of inflation, employment disruption, and other financial difficulties facing our borrowers;
•our ability to timely reduce operating costs, or generate offsetting revenue, in proportion to the recent industry-wide decrease in originations activity and the impact of cost-reduction initiatives on our business and operations;
•the amount of common stock that we may repurchase under any future stock repurchase programs, the timing of such repurchases, and the long-term impact, if any, of repurchases on the trading price of our stock;
•uncertainty relating to the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including with respect to the response of the U.S. government, state governments, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (together, the GSEs), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) and regulators;
•the proportion of borrowers who enter into forbearance plans, the financial ability of borrowers to resume repayment and their timing for doing so;
•the extent to which our mortgage servicing rights (MSR) joint venture with Oaktree Capital Management L.P. and its affiliates (Oaktree), other transactions and our enterprise sales initiatives will generate additional subservicing volume and result in increased profitability;
•our ability, and the ability of MSR Asset Vehicle LLC (MAV), to bid competitively for, and close acquisitions of, MSRs on terms that will enable us to achieve our growth objectives and a favorable return on our investment in MAV;
•our ability to identify, enter into and close additional strategic transactions, including the ability to obtain regulatory approvals, enter into definitive financing arrangements, and satisfy closing conditions, and the timing for doing so;
•the extent to which our ownership stake in MAV’s holding company may be diluted, resulting in a reduced ability for us to participate in certain routine management decisions;
•our ability to efficiently integrate the operations and assets of acquired businesses and to retain their employees and customers over time;
•the adequacy of our financial resources, including our sources of liquidity and ability to sell, fund and recover servicing advances, forward and reverse whole loans, and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and forward loan buyouts and put-backs, as well as repay, renew and extend borrowings, borrow additional amounts as and when required, meet our MSR or other asset investment objectives and comply with our debt agreements, including the financial and other covenants contained in them;
•increased servicing costs based on rising borrower delinquency levels or other factors, including an increase in severe weather events resulting in property damage and financial hardship to our borrowers;
•reduced collection of servicing fees and ancillary income and delayed collection of servicing revenue as a result of forbearance plans and moratoria on evictions and foreclosure proceedings;
•our ability to improve our financial performance through cost re-engineering initiatives and other actions;
•our ability to maintain and increase market share in our target markets, including in forward and reverse servicing;
•uncertainty related to our long-term relationship with Rithm Capital Corp. (Rithm), formerly New Residential Investment Corp. (NRZ), our largest subservicing client as of December 31, 2022;
•uncertainty related to MAV’s continued ownership of its MSR portfolio following the end of MAV’s investment commitment period, and any impact on our subservicing income as a result of the sale of MAV’s MSRs;
•uncertainty related to past, present or future claims, litigation, cease and desist orders and investigations relating to our business practices, including those brought by private parties and state regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection
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Bureau (CFPB), State Attorneys General, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD);
•adverse effects on our business as a result of regulatory investigations, litigation, cease and desist orders or settlements and the reactions of key counterparties, including lenders, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae;
•the costs of complying with the terms of our settlements with regulatory agencies and disputes as to whether we have fully complied;
•any adverse developments in existing legal proceedings or the initiation of new legal proceedings;
•our ability to efficiently manage our regulatory and contractual compliance obligations and fully comply with all applicable requirements;
•uncertainty related to changes in legislation, regulations, government programs and policies, industry initiatives, best servicing and lending practices, and media scrutiny of our business and industry;
•the extent to which changes in the law as well as changes in the interpretation of law may require us to modify our business practices and expose us to increased expense and litigation risk;
•our ability to interpret correctly and comply with current or future liquidity, net worth and other financial and other requirements of regulators, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae, as well as those set forth in our debt and other agreements, including our ability to identify and implement a cost-effective response to Ginnie Mae’s risk-based capital requirements that take effect in late 2024;
•our ability to comply with our servicing agreements, including our ability to comply with our agreements with the GSEs and Ginnie Mae and maintain our seller/servicer and other statuses with them;
•our servicer and credit ratings as well as other actions from various rating agencies, including the impact of prior or future downgrades of our servicer and credit ratings;
•failure of our, or our vendors’, information technology or other security systems or breach of our, or our vendors’, privacy protections, including any failure to protect customers’ data;
•our reliance on our technology vendors to adequately maintain and support our systems, including our servicing systems, loan originations and financial reporting systems, and uncertainty relating to our ability to transition to alternative vendors, if necessary, without incurring significant cost or disruption to our operations;
•our ability to recruit and retain senior managers and key employees;
•increased compensation and benefits expense as a result of rising inflation and labor market trends;
•uncertainty related to the actions of loan owners and guarantors, including mortgage-backed securities investors, the GSEs, Ginnie Mae and trustees regarding loan put-backs, penalties and legal actions;
•uncertainty related to the GSEs substantially curtailing or ceasing to purchase our conforming loan originations or the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) of the HUD, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ceasing to provide insurance;
•uncertainty related to our ability to continue to collect certain expedited payment or convenience fees and potential liability for charging such fees;
•uncertainty related to our reserves, valuations, provisions and anticipated realization of assets;
•uncertainty related to the ability of third-party obligors and financing sources to fund servicing advances on a timely basis on loans serviced by us;
•the characteristics of our servicing portfolio, including prepayment speeds along with delinquency and advance rates;
•our ability to successfully modify delinquent loans, manage foreclosures and sell foreclosed properties;
•uncertainty related to the processes for judicial and non-judicial foreclosure proceedings, including potential additional costs or delays or moratoria in the future or claims pertaining to past practices;
•our ability to adequately manage and maintain real estate owned (REO) properties and vacant properties collateralizing loans that we service;
•our ability to realize anticipated future gains from future draws on existing loans in our reverse mortgage portfolio;
•our ability to effectively manage our exposure to interest rate changes and foreign exchange fluctuations;
•our ability to effectively transform our operations in response to changing business needs, including our ability to do so without unanticipated adverse tax consequences;
•increasingly frequent and costly disruptions to our operations as a result of severe weather events;
•uncertainty related to the political or economic stability of the United States (U.S.) and of the foreign countries in which we have operations; and
•our ability to maintain positive relationships with our large shareholders and obtain their support for management proposals requiring shareholder approval.
Further information on the risks specific to our business is detailed within this report, including under “Risk Factors.” Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements whether because of new information, future events or otherwise.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
When we use the terms “Ocwen,” “OCN,” “we,” “us” and “our,” we are referring to Ocwen Financial Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.
OVERVIEW
We are a financial services company that services and originates both forward and reverse mortgage loans, through our primary brands, PHH Mortgage and Liberty Reverse Mortgage. We have a strong track record of success as a leader in the servicing industry in foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation that helps homeowners stay in their homes and improves financial outcomes for mortgage loan investors. This long-standing core competency continues to be a guiding principle as we seek to grow our business and improve our financial performance. We are a leader in the reverse mortgage business with a strong brand and have expanded our reverse mortgage servicing competitive advantage with our acquisition of a reverse mortgage servicing platform in the fourth quarter of 2021.
We are headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida with offices and operations in the U.S., in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), in India and the Philippines. At December 31, 2022, approximately 75% of our workforce is located outside the U.S. Ocwen Financial Corporation is a Florida corporation organized in February 1988. With our predecessors, we have been servicing residential mortgage loans since 1988. We have been originating forward mortgage loans since 2012 and reverse mortgage loans since 2013. We currently provide solutions through our primary operating, wholly-owned subsidiary, PHH Mortgage Corporation (PMC).
BUSINESS MODEL AND SEGMENTS
Ocwen’s business model is designed to create value and maximize returns for our shareholders, and effectively allocate our resources. We have transformed into a balanced and diversified business intended to navigate challenging economic and market conditions. We seek to create value for shareholders through profitable growth, service excellence and high-quality operational execution. Our core competencies revolve around our Servicing business and we have developed a profitable Originations platform to replenish and pursue growth of our servicing portfolio.
Our Servicing business is comprised of two components, our owned MSRs and our subservicing portfolio that complement each other when managing scale. We invest our capital to fund purchases and originations of our owned MSRs and servicing advances, for which we establish a targeted return on investment. Our net return includes servicing revenue net of servicing costs, less MSR portfolio runoff, and less MSR and advance funding cost. Our net return is impacted by fair value changes of our owned MSRs, net of hedging. that vary based on market conditions. Our subservicing portfolio generates a relatively stable source of revenue. While subservicing fees are relatively lower, we do not incur any significant capital utilization or funding of advances and are not exposed to fair value volatility. In 2021, we expanded our servicing portfolio with the launch of our MSR joint venture with Oaktree, MAV. Our MAV and Rithm (formerly NRZ) servicing portfolios are effectively subservicing relationships. We target a balanced mix of our portfolio between servicing and subservicing based on capital allocation and returns. Our servicing operations and customer interactions do not differentiate whether loans are serviced or subserviced. In 2021, we also expanded our capability in reverse subservicing by acquiring the Mortgage Assets Management, LLC (formerly known as Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc.) (MAM (RMS)) servicing platform.
Our Originations business’ strategy is to provide self-sustained replenishment opportunities to our servicing portfolio and profitable growth. Our Originations success is built on our relationships with borrowers, lenders and other market participants. We purchase MSRs through bulk portfolio purchases, through flow purchase agreements with our network of mortgage companies and financial institutions, and through participation in the Agency Cash Window (or Co-Issue) programs. In order to diversify our sources of servicing and reduce our reliance on others, we have been developing our origination of MSRs through different channels, including our portfolio recapture channel, retail, wholesale and correspondent lending. In 2021, we expanded our correspondent lending channel by acquiring Texas Capital Bank’s (TCB) network of approximately 220 correspondent lenders.
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The chart below summarizes our current business model:
We report our activities in three segments, Servicing, Originations and Corporate Items and Other, which reflect other business activities that are currently individually insignificant. Our business segments reflect the internal reporting that we use to evaluate operating performance of services and to assess the allocation of our resources. The financial information of our segments is presented in our financial statements in Note 22 — Business Segment Reporting and discussed in the individual business operations sections of Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Servicing
Our Servicing business is primarily comprised of our residential forward mortgage servicing business that currently accounts for the majority of our total revenues, our reverse mortgage servicing business, and our small commercial mortgage servicing business. Our servicing clients include some of the largest financial institutions in the U.S., including the GSEs, Ginnie Mae, Rithm and non-Agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) trusts, MAV and MAM (RMS).
As of December 31, 2022, our servicing portfolio consisted of approximately 1.4 million loans with a UPB of $289.8 billion.
Servicing involves the collection of principal and interest payments from borrowers, the administration of tax and insurance escrow accounts, the collection of insurance claims, the management of loans that are delinquent or in foreclosure or bankruptcy, including making servicing advances, evaluating loans for modification and other loss mitigation activities and, if necessary, foreclosure referrals and the sale of the underlying mortgaged property following foreclosure (REO) on behalf of mortgage loan investors or other servicers. Master servicing involves the collection of payments from servicers and the distribution of funds to investors in mortgage and asset-backed securities and whole loan packages. Reverse servicing includes additional functions such as the funding of borrowers under their approved borrowing capacity, the repurchase of loans and assignment to HUD upon reaching a limit (based on the maximum claim amount) and the securitization of tails under the Ginnie Mae program. We earn contractual monthly servicing fees (which are typically payable as a percentage of UPB) pursuant to servicing agreements as well as other ancillary fees relating to our servicing activities such as late fees and, in certain circumstances, REO referral commissions.
We own MSRs outright, where we typically receive all the servicing economics, and we subservice on behalf of other institutions that own the MSRs, in which case we typically earn a smaller fee for performing the subservicing activities. Special servicing is a form of subservicing where we generally manage only delinquent loans on behalf of a loan owner. We typically earn subservicing and special servicing fees either as a percentage of UPB or on a per loan basis based on delinquency status. Our reverse owned servicing activities are reflected in our financial statements with the portfolio of securitized reverse loans held for investment and the related HMBS borrowings. We manage our reverse owned servicing activities consistent with our outright ownership of the associated HECM MSR (HMSR).
Servicing advances are an important component of our business and are amounts that we, as MSR owner, are required to advance to, or on behalf of, investors if we do not receive such amounts from borrowers. These amounts include principal and interest payments, property taxes and insurance premiums and amounts to maintain, repair and market real estate properties on behalf of our servicing clients. Most of our advances have the highest reimbursement priority such that we are entitled to
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repayment of the advances from the loan or property liquidation proceeds before most other claims on these proceeds. Advances are contractually non-interest bearing. The costs incurred by servicers in meeting advancing obligations consist principally of the interest expense incurred in financing the advance receivables and the costs of arranging such financing. Under subservicing agreements, Ocwen is promptly reimbursed by the owners of the MSRs who generally finance the advances and incur the associated financing cost.
Reducing delinquencies is important to our business because it enables us to recover advances and recognize additional ancillary income, such as late fees, which we do not recognize on delinquent loans until they are brought current. Performing loans also require less work and thus are generally less costly to service. While increasing borrower participation in loan modification programs is a critical component of our ability to reduce delinquencies, borrower compliance with those modifications is also an important factor.
Our servicing portfolio naturally decreases over time as homeowners make regularly scheduled mortgage payments, prepay loans prior to maturity, refinance with a mortgage loan not serviced by us or involuntarily liquidate through foreclosure or other liquidation process. In addition, existing clients may determine to terminate their servicing and subservicing arrangements with us and transfer the servicing to others. Therefore, our ability to maintain or grow our servicing revenue or the size of our servicing portfolio depends on our ability to acquire the right to service or subservice additional mortgage loans at a rate that exceeds portfolio runoff and any client terminations. Our Originations segment is focused on profitably replenishing and growing our servicing and subservicing portfolios.
Originations
The primary source of revenue of our Originations segment is our gain on sale of loans. We originate and purchase residential mortgage loans that we sell to Agencies or securitize on a servicing retained basis, thereby generating mortgage servicing rights. Our mortgage loans are conventional (conforming to the underwriting standards of the GSEs) and government-insured loans (insured by the FHA or VA) (collectively Agency loans). We generally package and sell the loans in the secondary mortgage market, through GSE and Ginnie Mae guaranteed securitizations and whole loan transactions. We originate forward mortgage loans directly with customers (consumer direct channel) as well as through correspondent lending arrangements. We originate reverse mortgage loans in all three channels, through our correspondent lending arrangements, broker relationships (wholesale) and retail channels. Per-loan margins vary by channel, with correspondent typically being the lowest margin and retail the highest, commensurate with fulfillment costs. Similarly, origination margins are generally higher for reverse mortgages than forward mortgages.
In addition to our originated MSRs, we acquire MSRs through multiple channels, including flow purchase agreements, the Agency Cash Window programs and bulk MSR purchases. Our Originations business also includes the sourcing and acquisition of new subservicing clients.
In 2022, our Originations business generated total volume additions of $88.8 billion in UPB (refer to Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Overview for further details).
Retail Lending. We originate forward and reverse mortgage loans directly with borrowers through our retail lending business. Our forward lending business benefits from our servicing portfolio by offering refinance options to qualified borrowers seeking to lower their mortgage payments. Depending on borrower eligibility, we refinance eligible customers into conforming or government-insured products. We are focused on increasing recapture rates on our existing servicing portfolio to grow this business. We also are increasing our ability to originate retail loans to non-Ocwen servicing customers through various marketing channels. Through lead campaigns and direct marketing, the retail channel seeks to convert leads into loans in a cost-efficient manner. In 2022. we rapidly adjusted our scale and resources to stressed market conditions.
Correspondent Lending. Our correspondent lending operation purchases forward and reverse mortgage loans that have been originated by a network of approved third-party lenders. All the lenders participating in our correspondent lending program are approved under our lending and risk management programs. We also employ an ongoing monitoring and renewal process for participating lenders that includes an evaluation of the performance of the loans they have sold to us. We perform a variety of pre- and post-funding review procedures to ensure that the loans we purchase conform to our requirements and to the requirements of the investors to whom we sell loans.
Wholesale Lending. We originate reverse mortgage loans through a network of approved brokers. Brokers are subject to a formal approval and monitoring process. We underwrite all loans originated through this channel consistent with the underwriting standards required by the ultimate investor prior to funding.
We provide customary origination representations and warranties to investors in connection with our loan sales and securitization activities. We receive customary origination representations and warranties from our network of approved originators relating to loans we purchase through our correspondent lending channel. In the event we cannot remedy a breach of a representation or warranty, we may be required to repurchase the loan or provide an indemnification payment to the investor. To the extent that we have recourse against a third-party originator, we may recover part or all of any loss we incur.
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MSR Purchases. We purchase MSRs through flow purchase agreements, the Agency Cash Window programs and bulk MSR purchases. The Agency Cash Window programs we participate in, and purchase MSRs from, allow mortgage companies and financial institutions to sell whole loans to the respective Agency and sell the MSR to the winning bidder servicing released. In addition, we partner with other originators to replenish our MSR through flow purchase agreements. We do not provide any origination representations and warranties in connection with our MSR purchases through MSR flow purchase agreements or Agency Cash Window programs.
New Servicing and Subservicing Acquisitions. Our enterprise sales department strives to expand our network of servicing and subservicing clients and source new flow and co-issue or subservicing agreements. We compete as a low cost provider with our demonstrated expertise to service mortgage assets across borrowers of every credit level and with our recapture ability.
REGULATION
Our business is subject to extensive regulation and supervision by federal, state, local and foreign governmental authorities, including the CFPB, HUD, the SEC and various state agencies that license our servicing and lending activities. Accordingly, we are regularly subject to examinations, inquiries and requests, including civil investigative demands and subpoenas. The GSEs and their conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Ginnie Mae, the United States Treasury Department, various investors, non-Agency securitization trustees and others also subject us to periodic reviews and audits. See Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legal and Regulatory Risks for further information.
We have faced and expect to continue to face heightened regulatory scrutiny as well as stricter and more comprehensive regulation of the entire mortgage sector. We continue to work diligently to assess and understand the implications of the regulatory environment in which we operate and to meet the requirements of this constantly changing environment. In the normal course of business, we devote substantial resources to regulatory compliance, while, at the same time, striving to meet the needs and expectations of our customers, clients and other stakeholders. See Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legal and Regulatory Risks for further information.
We must comply with a large number of federal, state and local consumer protection and other laws and regulations, including, among others, the CARES Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Homeowners Protection Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, as well as individual state and local laws, and federal and local bankruptcy rules. These laws and regulations apply to all facets of our business, including, but not limited to, licensing, loan originations, consumer disclosures, default servicing and collections, foreclosure, filing of claims, registration of vacant or foreclosed properties, handling of escrow accounts, payment application, interest rate adjustments, assessment of fees, loss mitigation, use of credit reports, handling of unclaimed property, safeguarding of non-public personally identifiable information about our customers, and the ability of our employees to work remotely. These complex requirements can and do change as laws and regulations are enacted, promulgated, amended, interpreted and enforced. See Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legal and Regulatory Risks for further information.
In addition, a number of foreign laws and regulations apply to our operations outside of the U.S., including laws and regulations that govern licensing, privacy, employment, safety, payroll and other taxes and insurance and laws and regulations that govern the creation, continuation and the winding up of companies as well as the relationships between shareholders, our corporate entities, the public and the government in these countries. Our foreign subsidiaries are subject to inquiries and examinations from foreign governmental regulators in the countries in which we operate outside of the U.S. Finally, our licensed entities are required to renew their licenses, typically on an annual basis, and to do so they must satisfy the license renewal requirements of each jurisdiction, which generally include financial requirements such as providing audited financial statements or satisfying minimum net worth requirements and non-financial requirements such as satisfactorily completing examinations as to the licensee’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The minimum net worth requirements to which our licensed entities are subject are unique to each state and type of license. See Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legal and Regulatory Risks for further information.
The general trend among federal, state and local legislative bodies and regulatory agencies as well as state attorneys general has been toward increasing laws, regulations, investigative proceedings and enforcement actions with regard to residential mortgage lenders and servicers, which could increase the possibility of adverse regulatory action against us. The CFPB continues to take a very active role in the mortgage industry, and its rule-making and regulatory agenda relating to loan servicing and origination continues to evolve. Individual states have also been active, as have other regulatory organizations such as the Multistate Mortgage Committee (MMC), a multistate coalition of various mortgage banking regulators. In addition to their traditional focus on licensing and examination matters, certain regulators make observations, recommendations or demands with respect to areas such as corporate governance, safety and soundness and risk and compliance management.
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The CFPB and state regulators have also focused on the use and adequacy of technology in the mortgage servicing industry, privacy concerns and other topical issues, such as discontinuation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), communications from debt collectors, the ability of borrowers to repay mortgage loans, or servicer responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, allowing borrowers affected by COVID-19 to request temporary loan forbearance for federally backed mortgage loans. In addition, multiple forbearance programs, moratoria of foreclosure and eviction and other requirements to assist borrowers enduring financial hardship due to COVID-19 were implemented by states, agencies and regulators. Further, the CFPB promulgated certain amendments to RESPA (Regulation X) that became effective on August 31, 2021 and that impose certain additional COVID-19-related requirements with respect to loss mitigation, early intervention call requirements, and initiating new foreclosures. The CFPB moratorium on new foreclosures sunset on January 1, 2022, although some states continue to impose certain foreclosure moratoria, including in connection with their respective Homeowner Assistance Fund programs.
COMPETITION
The financial services markets in which we operate are highly competitive and fragmented, and we expect them to remain so. We compete with large and small financial services companies, including bank and non-bank entities, in the servicing, lending and MSR transaction markets. Our competitors include large and regional banks, large non-bank servicers and mortgage originators, and real estate investment trusts. In both our servicing and originations business, new competitors continue to emerge, including companies that developed new technology around customer interactions and process automation.
In our Servicing business, we compete based on price, operating performance, service quality and customer and client satisfaction. Potential counterparties also (1) assess our regulatory compliance track record and examine our systems and processes for maintaining and demonstrating regulatory compliance, (2) consider our customer satisfaction rankings, and (3) consider our third-party servicer ratings. Certain of our competitors, especially large banks, may have substantially lower costs of capital and greater financial resources, which can create competitive challenges in certain situations. We believe that our competitive strengths flow from our ability to control and drive down delinquencies using proprietary processes, our superior operating performance, our lower cost to service non-performing loans, our deep know-how as a long-time operator of servicing loans and our long-standing and well established offshore operations. For the 2022 program year, Ocwen’s mortgage subsidiary, PMC, has been recognized for servicing excellence through both Freddie Mac’s Servicer Honors and Rewards Program (SHARPSM) award in the top tier servicing group and Fannie Mae’s Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STARTM) performer recognition in the General Servicing category for the third and second consecutive year, respectively. In addition, PMC achieved HUD’s Tier 1 servicer ranking for the second consecutive year.
In our Originations business, we face intense competition in most areas, including rates, margin, fees, customer service and name recognition. Some of our competitors, including the larger banks, have substantially lower costs of capital and strong retail presence, which can create competitive challenges in certain situations. We will continue to face increased competitive pressures in the future as the refinance opportunities remain limited with elevated interest rates. We believe our competitive strengths flow from our existing customer relationships and from our focus on providing strong customer service, our brand recognition for our Liberty Reverse Mortgage business, our long-standing and well established offshore operations and our use of technology to produce higher levels of productivity to drive down per-loan costs.
THIRD-PARTY SERVICER RATINGS
Like other servicers, we are the subject of mortgage servicer ratings or rankings (collectively, ratings) issued and revised from time to time by rating agencies including Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s), S&P Global Ratings, Inc. (S&P) and Fitch Ratings, Inc. (Fitch). Favorable ratings from these agencies are important to the conduct of our loan servicing and lending businesses.
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The following table summarizes our latest key servicer ratings:
| PHH Mortgage Corporation (PMC) | |||||||||||||||||
| Moody’s | S&P | Fitch | |||||||||||||||
| Forward | |||||||||||||||||
| Residential Prime Servicer | SQ3 | Average | RPS3+ | ||||||||||||||
| Residential Subprime Servicer | SQ3 | Average | RPS3+ | ||||||||||||||
| Residential Special Servicer | SQ3 | Average | RSS3 | ||||||||||||||
| Residential Second/Subordinate Lien Servicer | SQ3 | Average | RPS3 | ||||||||||||||
| Residential Home Equity Servicer | — | — | RPS3 | ||||||||||||||
| Residential Alt-A Servicer | — | — | RPS3 | ||||||||||||||
| Master Servicer | SQ3+ | Above Average | RMS3 | ||||||||||||||
| Ratings Outlook | N/A | Stable | Positive / Stable | ||||||||||||||
| Date of last action | September 28, 2021 | June 29, 2021 | August 2, 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| Reverse | |||||||||||||||||
| Residential Reverse Servicer | — | Above Average | — | ||||||||||||||
| Ratings Outlook | — | Stable | — | ||||||||||||||
| Date of initial rating | — | May 27, 2022 | — | ||||||||||||||
In addition to servicer ratings, each of the agencies will from time to time assign an outlook (or a ratings watch such as Moody’s review status) to the rating status of a mortgage servicer. A negative outlook is generally used to indicate that a rating “may be lowered,” while a positive outlook is generally used to indicate a rating “may be raised.” On September 28, 2021, Moody’s upgraded the servicer quality (SQ) assessment for PMC as a master servicer of residential mortgage loans from SQ3 to SQ3+, reflecting solid reporting and remitting processes and proactive servicer oversight. On June 29, 2021, S&P affirmed PMC’s servicer rating as Average, raising management and organization ranking to Above Average. In addition, S&P raised PMC’s master servicer rating from Average to Above Average reflecting the industry experience of PMC’s management, multiple levels of internal controls to monitor operations, and resolution of regulatory actions, among other factors mentioned by S&P. On August 2, 2022, Fitch affirmed and upgraded PMC’s servicer ratings and upgraded its outlook from Stable to Positive for prime and subprime products. The ratings for the other products remain the same and the related rating outlook remains Stable. The rating actions reflect PMC’s strong post-pandemic performance, effective enterprise-wide risk environment and compliance management framework, competitive loan servicing performance metrics, and highly automated technology environment. The ratings also consider the financial condition of PMC’s parent, Ocwen Financial Corporation. The upgrades and positive outlook on PMC’s prime and subprime servicer ratings are reflective of the company’s continued portfolio growth, diversified sourcing strategies and improved performance with respect to these loan types, which represent 85% of the total servicing portfolio.
On May 27, 2022, S&P assigned an Above Average ranking to PMC as a residential reverse mortgage loan servicer. The ranking outlook is Stable. This is the initial rating for PMC as a reverse mortgage loan servicer. S&P’s ranking reflects i) PMC’s highly experienced management teams and staff with sound overall levels of turnover, ii) well-designed information technology infrastructure, cybersecurity controls, and business continuity and disaster recovery processes, iii) sound internal control environment, with multiple lines of defense and automated systems to support each function, iv) lack of material internal or external audit findings noted, based on provided reports, v) good focus on systems and workflow automation throughout loan administration processes, vi) robust default management function and claims processes, vii) scale as one of the largest reverse mortgage servicer’s in the country, with highly experienced management and staff and technology largely from prior established legacy reverse servicers; and viii) good overall reverse servicing performance metrics, except for the elevated home retention department management and staff turnover rates and call center metrics in the contact center operations.
RITHM CAPITAL CORP. (formerly known as NEW RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENT CORP. or NRZ) RELATIONSHIP
We service loans on behalf of Rithm under various agreements, including traditional subservicing agreements, where Rithm is the legal owner of the MSRs, and in connection with legacy MSR transfers, including Rights to MSRs, where Ocwen retains legal title to the underlying MSRs but Rithm has generally assumed risks and rewards consistent with an MSR owner. See Note 8 — Other Financing Liabilities, at Fair Value.
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Rithm is our largest servicing client, accounting for $49.1 billion of UPB or 17% of the UPB of our total servicing portfolio as of December 31, 2022, approximately 68% of all delinquent loans that Ocwen serviced, and approximately 13% of our total servicing and subservicing fees in 2022, net of servicing fees remitted to Rithm (excluding ancillary income). In addition to a base servicing fee, we also receive some ancillary income and certain incentive fees or pay penalties tied to various contractual performance metrics. Rithm receives all float earnings and deferred servicing fees related to delinquent borrower payments, as well as certain REO-related income, including REO referral commissions. As legal MSR owner, or in compliance with the Rights to MSRs agreements, Rithm is responsible for financing all servicing advance obligations in connection with the loans underlying the MSRs.
On May 2, 2022, Ocwen and Rithm entered into amendments to extend the term of the subservicing agreements to December 31, 2023 (Second Term) and establish automatic one-year renewals, unless Ocwen or Rithm provide advance notice of termination. In addition, the parties agreed to share some ancillary revenues. The underlying loans are almost exclusively non-Agency loans, involving a higher level of operational and regulatory risk, and requiring substantial direct and oversight staffing relative to Agency loans.
Because of the relative size of the servicing agreements with Rithm, if Rithm exercises its right to terminate all or some of the agreements for convenience at the end of the Second Term on December 31, 2023, we may need to right-size certain aspects of our servicing business as well as the related corporate support functions.
OAKTREE RELATIONSHIP
We established a strategic alliance with Oaktree in 2020 to support refinancing our corporate debt and help advance our growth initiatives. The Oaktree relationship included the launch of an MSR investment vehicle (referred as MAV or MAV Canopy) to scale up our servicing business in a capital efficient manner and investments in our debt and equity.
On December 21, 2020, we entered into a Transaction Agreement with Oaktree to form a joint venture for the purpose of investing in GSE MSRs exclusively subserviced by PMC. Effective with the closing of the transaction on May 3, 2021, Oaktree and Ocwen hold 85% and 15% interests in MAV Canopy, and initially agreed to invest equity up to $250.0 million over three years. On November 2, 2022, Ocwen and Oaktree entered into an agreement modifying certain terms relating to the capitalization, management and operations of MAV Canopy. Under the terms of the agreement, Ocwen and Oaktree agreed to increase the aggregate capital contributions to MAV Canopy by up to $250.0 million through May 2, 2024 (in addition to the then contributed capital), subject to extension. Ocwen may elect to contribute its 15% pro rata share of the additional capital commitment. To the extent Ocwen does not contribute its pro rata share of the additional capital commitment, the ownership percentages held by Ocwen and Oaktree will be adjusted based on the parties’ current percentage interests, capital contributions and book value. As of December 31, 2022, our investment in MAV Canopy amounted to $42.2 million.
Pursuant to an agreement with Oaktree executed on February 2021, we issued to Oaktree in a private placement $285.0 million of Ocwen senior secured notes in two separate tranches. The initial tranche of $199.5 million senior secured notes was completed on March 4, 2021 and the additional $85.5 million tranche was completed following the launch of the MSR joint venture on May 3, 2021. In addition:
•On March 4, 2021, we issued 1,184,768 warrants to Oaktree to purchase shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $26.82 per share, subject to anti-dilution adjustments.
•On May 3, 2021, we issued 261,248 warrants to Oaktree to purchase additional common stock at an exercise price of $24.31 per share, subject to anti-dilution adjustments.
•On May 3, 2021, we issued to Oaktree 426,705 shares at a purchase price of $23.15 per share.
The net proceeds before expenses from the issuance to Oaktree of the initial tranche of senior secured notes and the warrants was $175.0 million (after $24.5 million of original issue discount) and was used, together with the proceeds from the additional debt financing, to repay in full an aggregate of $498 million of existing indebtedness, including Ocwen’s $185 million Senior Secured Term Loan, $21.5 million 6.375% senior unsecured notes due 2021 and $291.5 million 8.375% senior secured second lien notes due 2022. The net proceeds before expenses from the issuance to Oaktree of the additional tranche of senior secured notes and the warrants was approximately $75.0 million (after $10.5 million of original issue discount) and was used to fund our investment in the MSR joint venture and for general corporate purposes, including to accelerate the growth of our Originations and Servicing businesses.
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In 2021 as part of the launch of the MSR joint venture, PMC entered into a number of definitive agreements with MAV, the licensed mortgage subsidiary of MAV Canopy which govern the terms of their business relationship, including a Subservicing Agreement, Joint Marketing Agreement and Recapture Agreement, and Administrative Services Agreement. This joint venture is structured to provide Oaktree with MSR investment opportunities and returns, while providing PMC scale and incremental income through exclusive subservicing and recapture services. Additionally, PMC earns direct MSR investment income through its 15% ownership stake and would be entitled to carry interest on investment returns if exceeding certain thresholds upon liquidation (referred to as Promote Distribution). Under the arrangement, MAV has a non-compete to purchase certain GSE MSRs through specific channels in cooperation with PMC. In addition, PMC must offer MAV the first opportunity to purchase GSE MSRs sold by PMC or its affiliates that meet certain criteria, which we refer to as the right of first offer. Both the non-compete and the right of first offer are subject to various restrictions and in effect until MAV has been fully funded, or, if earlier, in the case of the right of first offer, until May 3, 2024 (subject to extension by mutual consent). Also, MAV must provide Ocwen with reciprocal first offer rights prior to selling certain GSE MSRs originated by PMC after October 1, 2022 that are acquired by MAV under its own first offer rights.
PMC has exclusive rights to subservice the MSR owned by MAV and is compensated with subservicing fees in accordance with the Subservicing Agreement. The Subservicing Agreement will continue until terminated by mutual agreement of the parties or for cause, as defined.
See Note 11 — Investment in Equity Method Investee and Related Party Transactions, Note 13 — Borrowings, and Note 15 — Stockholders’ Equity to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
We believe the success of our organization is highly dependent on the quality and engagement of our human capital resources. Our workforce is dedicated to creating positive outcomes for homeowners, communities and investors through caring service and innovative solutions. We strive to develop a working environment and culture that fosters our company values:
•Integrity: Do What’s Right – Always
•Service Excellence: Consistently Delivering on Our Commitments
•People: Develop, Grow and Value All Employees
•Teamwork: Succeed Together as a Global Team
•Embracing Change: Value Innovation and New Thinking
We had a total of approximately 4,900 employees at December 31, 2022. Approximately 1,200 of our employees were employed in the U.S. and USVI, and approximately 3,700 of our employees were employed in our operations in India and the Philippines.
Our Board of Directors and executive leadership team places significant focus on our human capital resources through fostering and measuring employee engagement, committing to comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, and engaging with both internal and external groups and organizations to ensure that our culture enables employees to consistently demonstrate our company values. Important attributes of our human capital strategy include:
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I). We are committed to be a globally diverse and inclusive workplace where every voice is heard and valued. Diversity, inclusiveness and respect are integral parts of our culture and work environment. DE&I training for all employees and unconscious bias training for leaders are parts of our learning programs to increase awareness, and employees at all levels are annually evaluated on sustaining an inclusive work environment. The pillars of our diversity program are:
•Leadership: Embrace and foster a culture of inclusion throughout Ocwen and be held accountable for achieving diversity and inclusion goals and objectives.
•Workforce: Attract, develop, retain and advance the best and brightest from all walks of life and backgrounds at all levels of the organization.
•Vendor Diversity: Achieve a range of suppliers, vendors and service providers who align with our diversity and inclusion strategies.
•Community Engagement: Ensure that Ocwen has a significant presence in and supports a core group of diverse, community-based organizations and philanthropies.
As of December 31, 2022, 48% of our employees globally are women, and 33% of our U.S. leadership roles (Director and above) are filled by women and 21% are people of color. 64% of our U.S. employees are women and 49% are people of color. Our affinity groups like the Ocwen Global Women’s Network (OGWN), LEAP Black professionals network, FREE affinity group for LGBTQ+ employees and mentoring programs, when coupled with a culture of appreciation, help provide a comprehensive ecosystem for diversity to flourish.
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We also take action to support the recruitment, development and retention of our diverse talent. These programs include ensuring diverse candidate slates as part of our hiring process, tracking minority hiring, promotion, retention and representation at all levels, and assessing diverse talent as part of our succession planning.
Pay equity is an important component of Ocwen’s employment value proposition, commitment to DE&I and legal and regulatory compliance. We regularly evaluate our performance management, merit increase incentive award and promotion processes for race and gender equality, and remediate any identified compensation gaps.
Ocwen supports several organizations focused on promoting diversity in the mortgage industry, including the American Mortgage Diversity Council. We are also committed to hiring graduates from historically Black colleges and universities through the HomeFree-USA Center for Financial Advancement program.
Talent Development. We continue to foster an environment in which every team member has the opportunity to grow and achieve his or her professional goals, with support and encouragement. We regularly measure employee engagement – our employees’ pride, energy and optimism that fuels their effort – and implement action plans that respond to employee feedback. Our most recent employee survey indicated 84% favorable engagement levels. Our training platform focuses not only on the technical domain skills essential to role success, but includes competency-based programs to develop leadership capabilities and skills needed for the future. Succession planning occurs annually and is reviewed by the CEO and the Compensation and Human Capital Committee. Strategic talent reviews to identify, develop and promote top talent are part of our performance management processes. The Aspire mentoring program provides aspiring women leaders at mid-level with a platform to build skill, knowledge and expertise while achieving professional development goals through focused guidance and insight from a network of mentors.
Rewards. Our total rewards (compensation and benefits) programs are developed to attract, motivate and retain employees. They demonstrate the value the employee provides to the organization, are designed to be competitive to the marketplace, and connect directly to key business strategies. Our compensation programs, including salaries and short- and long-term incentives, are centered on our pay-for-performance philosophy, aligning the interests of employees and stakeholders by rewarding both individual and overall company performance. Ocwen’s health and welfare benefit programs strive to keep employees productive and engaged at work by serving the total well-being of employees and their families. We are committed to and regularly evaluate our practices to ensure pay is fair and equitable, and competitive to the marketplace.
Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Practices and Corporate Sustainability
Our Board of Directors and our management are committed to ensuring Ocwen has responsible practices to address the needs of its customers, employees and the communities it serves. Our comprehensive approach to ESG and corporate sustainability is detailed in our report “Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) and Corporate Sustainability” on our website at www.ocwen.com in the “Shareholders” section under “Corporate Governance.” Our approach is represented by the following policies and programs:
Policy on non-discrimination. Ocwen’s non-discrimination policy provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals without discrimination based upon the following legally protected characteristics: race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status (including registered domestic partnership status), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), gender (including gender identity and expression), age (40 and over), sexual orientation, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status and any other consideration protected by federal, state or local law (collectively referred to as “protected characteristics”). Underlying this policy is Ocwen’s culture and values, including employees’ rights to be free from unlawful discrimination, and its commitment to providing a safe, secure and productive work environment.
Ocwen’s hiring, salary administration, promotion and transfer policies are based solely on job requirements, job performance and job-related criteria. In addition, every effort is made to ensure that Ocwen’s personnel policies and practices (including those relating to compensation, benefits, transfer, retention, termination, training and self-development opportunities, as well as social and recreational programs) are administered without discrimination on the basis of any legally protected characteristic.
Promoting equal opportunity and diversity. Ocwen is committed to providing equal opportunity in all areas of employment, compensation, training and promotion. Company policies prohibit discrimination of any form in all of the locations in which Ocwen operates. Ocwen strives to foster an environment in which all stakeholders can participate and contribute to the success of the organization’s enterprise, taking full advantage of the collective sum of individual differences, life experiences, inventiveness, self-expression and unique capabilities, knowledge and talent. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council meets quarterly to review progress related to the Ocwen’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Roadmap. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion updates are provided to the Executive Leadership Team on a monthly basis and to the Board of Directors as necessary. Ocwen’s Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy is reviewed on an annual basis and diversity, equity and inclusion training is provided to all employees globally. Additionally, all leaders are provided with a training course
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on unconscious bias, and diversity, equity and inclusion goals are incorporated into annual performance evaluations for all people managers.
Ocwen utilizes affinity groups to help support employee development and drive inclusion, including:
•The Ocwen Global Women’s Network (OGWN) supports recruitment, development and retention initiatives for women across the organization, and serves as a sounding board for business insights, and supports the attainment of company goals in diversity, inclusion and talent development. Integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into Ocwen’s culture is critical for our success and allows us to make the most of the full range of our talent. More than 2,400 employees are OGWN members.
•LEAP, which stands for Leading with Education Action and Purpose, has the mission to educate Ocwen employees globally about Black culture and the Black experience to increase inclusion across the organization. LEAP also enhances the professional development of Black employees through formal and informal mentoring, networking, learning opportunities and leadership development.
•The mission of FREE, which stands for Freedom, Respect, Expression and Equality, is to create a safe, inclusive and affirming office climate that fosters professional and personal growth for employees of all genders and sexualities through education, advocacy, outreach and support. FREE promotes a fully equitable environment that is free of judgment and strives for knowledge, challenges barriers, and seeks to help and empower LGBTQ+ employees and allies.
Commitment to Ethics. We have adopted a robust Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all employees and our Board of Directors, as well as an additional Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers that applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Accounting Officer. We provide multiple anonymous methods for any employee or other person to report a suspected ethical violation, including whistleblower complaints relating to accounting, internal controls, audit matters or securities law, and our policies prohibit retaliation against any person for making a good faith complaint. We also provide methods for interested individuals to contact the members of our Board of Directors and communicate directly with the Chair of our Audit Committee. Our General Counsel serves as our Chief Ethics Officer and works with members of our Internal Audit function to ensure every ethics complaint and communication to our Board is addressed in accordance with our company policies.
Benefits. Ocwen’s benefits programs strive to keep employees productive and engaged at work by serving the total well-being of employees’ and their families’ physical, mental and financial health. In the U.S., our comprehensive benefits plan includes company-sponsored medical, dental and vision; company-paid basic life, accident and disability coverage; 401(k) with company match; and supplemental group coverage for critical illness, accident, auto, home, pet, legal, identity protection, childcare/eldercare and tutoring. The medical plans include 100% coverage for all preventive care services and all generic preventive medications.
Our wellness programs offer incentives for completing preventive health screenings, participating in online and telephonic health coaching, improving or reaching targeted health scores, and increasing physical activity. Additionally, we provide employees with a comprehensive employee assistance program that includes virtual counseling, personalized health coaching for diabetes and other chronic conditions, stress management and financial planning workshops, online guided meditation and yoga, and more. Ocwen also provides a generous paid time off (PTO) program to support employees’ need to rest and recharge. Our medical and family leave programs offer paid disability absences and paid parental/adoption leave, in addition to FMLA-required schedule flexibility and job security. Outside the U.S., our employee benefit programs provide comparable and market appropriate benefits focused on supporting our employees well-being and retirement needs.
Training and development. Ocwen is committed to providing our employees with high-quality training and learning experiences targeted to increase industry knowledge levels, improve process efficiency and promote personal growth, which in turn helps improve customer experience, reduce foreclosures and contribute to our success as an organization. Ocwen facilitates professional development through the lifecycle of employees through functional business training, regulatory and compliance training, and skill and competency development programs. We also provide individualized one-on-one coaching to help customer-facing staff guide customers to positive experiences. In addition to learning programs designed to build functional and leadership competency for all levels of leadership throughout the organization, Ocwen offers a Leadership Development Training curriculum specifically designed to prepare employees at the Supervisor level and above with the competencies to make them successful in their roles as leaders. Training courses are housed in our continuously reviewed and updated learning management system.
Our training and development programs are important contributors to our ability to deliver industry-leading customer service. For the 2022 program year, Ocwen’s mortgage subsidiary, PMC, has been recognized for servicing excellence through both Freddie Mac’s SHARPSM award in the top tier servicing group and Fannie Mae’s STARTM performer recognition in the
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General Servicing category for the third and second consecutive year, respectively. In addition, PMC achieved HUD’s Tier 1 servicer ranking for the second consecutive year.
Community development. At Ocwen, we believe homeownership is an important part of achieving financial independence, and our philosophy in this regard is “helping homeowners is what we do.” This philosophy is what guides us in our commitment to the communities we serve. We organize a variety of community outreach programs and events with local and national organizations around the country to assist homeowners, particularly in communities of color. Our outreach events began during the 2008 mortgage crisis and have continued since then. In 2022, we hosted 55 borrower outreach events across the country in partnership with the NAACP. In Western New York, Ocwen increased its outreach efforts to include membership in the Erie County Clerk’s Good Neighbors program, in addition to its existing participation in the Zombie Task Force and the Stay In Your Home campaign.
To better serve our communities, Ocwen created a Community Advisory Council in 2014, consisting of 15 leaders from a diverse group of national non-profit organizations, consumer advocacy groups and civil rights organizations, as a platform to collaborate and share ideas on how to help homeowners. Ocwen provides grants and sponsorship funding to a number of local and national nonprofit organizations each year, in support of the work they do to help distressed communities and homeowners. Over the past three years, Ocwen has contributed approximately $6 million to these organizations, and over $27 million since 2012.
Charitable activity. Ocwen continues to find meaningful ways to give back to the communities where we live and work. The charitable events at our office locations around the globe included distributing meals and supporting local food banks, helping economically disadvantaged children and at-risk youth, helping schools for hearing-impaired children, holding toy drives and back-to-school supply drives, helping the homeless, supporting victims of crimes, providing financial assistance to families impacted by cancer, making donations to first responders, helping communities impacted by the pandemic with donations and medical equipment, hosting blood drives through the American Red Cross and making donations to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Opens Doors Foundation to help families with a critically ill or injured child.
Responsible information security management. We believe Ocwen has a robust information security program in place to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and information systems. Ocwen’s Board of Directors is briefed regularly on information security risks, which are managed by a combination of strong policies, appropriate tools and technologies and continuous people awareness. Ocwen’s cyber security controls utilize a layered defense-in-depth approach to thwart any attempts to compromise the integrity of the network. Our employees are provided regular training to identify, prevent and report cyber security risks and incidents. Our third-party risk management program evaluates and monitors our vendors’ information security practices, and all third-party vendors that process data on our behalf are required to maintain a documented information security program that meets our stringent security requirements. Ocwen’s cyber security preparedness is tested on a regular basis through a variety of assessments, including internal and external vulnerability assessments, penetration tests, incident response table top tests, breach readiness and response tests, among others.
Environmental Impact. In 2022, Ocwen continued its commitment to operate through a primarily remote working model, reducing the percentage of employees commuting daily to the office. Fewer associates in the offices afforded the opportunity to reduce our office footprint in several markets. As office space footprints were reduced, improvements were made to retrofit lighting and equipment to lower our use of natural resources. Recycling of office and paper products in all U.S. facilities continues to be a priority, which reduces our imprint on the local landfills. With the implementation and enhancement of our digital mailing service and the continued success of our electronic notice delivery and process automations, we have eliminated approximately 4.9 million paper mailings leading to a reduction of approximately 142 tons of CO2 pollution.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Our risk management framework seeks to mitigate risk and appropriately balance risk and return. We have established policies and procedures intended to identify, assess, monitor and manage the types of risk to which we are subject, including strategic, market, credit, liquidity and operational risks.
Our Chief Risk and Compliance Officer is responsible for the design, implementation and oversight of our global risk management and compliance programs. Risks unique to our businesses are governed through various management processes and governance committees to oversee risk and related control activities across our company and provide a framework for potential issues to be identified, assessed and remediated under the direction of senior executives from our business, finance, risk, compliance, internal audit and law departments, as applicable. Information is aggregated and reports on risk matters are made to the Board of Directors, its Risk and Compliance Committee or its other committees, as applicable, to enable the Board of Directors and its committees to fulfill their governance and oversight responsibilities.
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Strategic Risk
We are exposed to risk with respect to the strategic initiatives we have taken to return to sustainable growth and profitability. Strategic risk represents the risk to shareholder or enterprise value, current or future earnings, capital and liquidity from adverse business decisions and/or improper implementation of business strategies. Management is responsible for developing and implementing business strategies that leverage our core competencies and are appropriately structured, resourced and executed. Oversight for our strategic actions is provided by the Board of Directors. Our performance, relative to our business plans and our longer-term strategic plans, is reviewed by management and the Board of Directors.
To achieve our near-term financial objectives, we believe we need to execute on the key business initiatives discussed above under “Overview”. Our ability to achieve our objectives is highly dependent on the success of our business relationships with our critical counterparties like the GSEs, FHFA, Ginnie Mae, our lenders, regulators, significant customers and our ability to attract new customers, all of which are impacted by our capability to adequately address the competitive challenges we face.
Market Risk
See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.
Liquidity Risk
We are exposed to liquidity risk through our ongoing needs to: originate, purchase, repurchase and finance mortgage loans; sell mortgage loans into secondary markets; retain, acquire and finance MSRs, make and finance advances; fund and sell additional future draws by borrowers under variable rate HECM loans; meet our HMBS issuer obligations with respect to MCA repurchases; repay maturing debt; meet our contractual obligations; and otherwise fund our operations. Liquidity is an essential component of our ability to operate and grow our business; therefore, it is crucial that we maintain adequate levels of excess liquidity to fund our businesses during normal economic cycles and events of market stress.
We estimate how our liquidity needs may be impacted by a number of factors, including fluctuations in asset and liability levels due to our business strategy, asset valuations, changes in cash flows from operations, levels of interest rates, debt service requirements including contractual amortization, margin calls and maturities, and unanticipated events, including legal and regulatory expenses. We also assess market conditions and capacity for debt issuance in the various markets that we access to fund our business needs. We have established internal processes to anticipate future cash needs and continuously monitor the availability of funds pursuant to our existing debt arrangements. We monitor MSR asset valuations and communicate closely with our lenders for this asset class to ensure adequate liquidity is maintained for mark-to-market valuation changes within MSR financing facilities. We manage this risk in multiple ways, including but not limited to engaging in MSR hedging activities, and maintaining liquidity earmarks at levels to support potential changes in MSR fair values.
We regularly evaluate capital structure options that we believe will most effectively provide the necessary capacity to support our investment objectives, address upcoming debt maturities and contractual amortization, and accommodate our business needs. Our objective is to maximize the total investment capacity through diversification of our funding sources while optimizing cost, advance rates and terms.
In general, we finance our business operations through a variety of activities - cash on hand, operating cash flow, strategic investor relationships and both committed and non-committed asset-based lending facilities for our significant MSR, mortgage warehouse and servicing advance activities. We address liquidity risk by actively managing our sources and uses of funds and maintaining contingency funding capacities, including but not limited to undrawn excess borrowing capacity on credit lines beyond our expected needs and by extending the tenor of our financing arrangements from time to time. Management closely monitors growth, and can adjust originations pricing quickly to manage its liquidity profile as needed. We have typically amended sizing on existing facilities or entered into new secured facilities in anticipation of our changing liquidity needs.
Operational Risk
Operational risk is inherent in each of our business lines and related support activities. This risk can manifest itself in various ways, including process execution errors, clerical or technological failures or errors, business interruptions and frauds, all of which could cause us to incur losses. Operational risk includes the following key risks:
•legal risk, as we can have legal disputes with borrowers or counterparties;
•compliance risk, as we are subject to many federal and state rules and regulations;
•third-party risk, as we have many processes that have been outsourced to third parties;
•information technology risk, as we operate many information systems that depend on proper functioning of hardware and software;
•information security risk, as our information systems and associates handle personal financial data of borrowers, and
•business continuity risk, as natural disasters, pandemics, extreme weather, and other unexpected events can cause disruption to our operations.
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The Board of Directors provides direction to senior executives by setting our organization’s risk appetite, and delegates to our Chief Executive Officer and senior executives the primary ownership and responsibility for operational risk management and control. Senior executives in our risk department oversee the establishment of policies and control frameworks that are designed, executed and administered to provide a sound and well-controlled operational environment in accordance with our risk appetite framework. We mandate training for our employees in respect to these policies, require business line change management control oversight, and we conduct targeted control assessment/reviews on a regular basis. Risk issues identified are tracked in our Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) system. Remediation and assurance testing are also tracked in our GRC system. We also have several channels for employees to report operational and/or technological issues affecting their operations to management, the operational risk or compliance teams or the Board.
We seek to embed a culture of compliance and business line responsibility for managing operational and compliance risks in our enterprise-wide approach toward risk management. Ocwen has adopted a “Three Lines of Defense” model to enable risks and controls to be properly managed on an on-going basis. The model delineates business line management's accountabilities and responsibilities over risk management and the control environment and includes mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of executing these responsibilities.
The first line of defense consists of business line management, dedicated control directors and quality assurance personnel who are accountable and responsible for their day-to-day activities, processes and controls. The first line of defense is responsible for ensuring that key risks within their activities and operations are identified, assessed, mitigated and monitored by an appropriate control environment that is commensurate with the operations risk profile.
The second line of defense is independent from the business and comprises a Risk Management function (including Third-Party Risk and Information Security) and a Compliance function, which are responsible for:
•providing assurance, oversight, and credible challenge over the effectiveness of the risk and control activities conducted by the first line;
•establishing frameworks to identify and measure the risks being taken by different parts of the business;
•monitoring risk levels, through key indicators and oversight/assurance and testing programs; and
•provide periodic reporting to Senior Management and the Board of Directors for transparency.
The third line of defense, Internal Audit, provides independent assurance as to the effectiveness of the design, implementation and embedding of the risk management frameworks, as well as the management of the risks and controls by the first line and control oversight by the second line. The Internal Audit function provides periodic reporting on its activities to Senior Management and the Board of Directors for transparency.
All business units and overhead functions are subject to unrestricted audits by our internal audit department. Internal audit is granted unrestricted access to our records, physical properties, systems, management and employees in order to perform these audits. The internal audit department reports to the Audit Committee of the Board and assists the Audit Committee in fulfilling its governance and oversight responsibility.
Compliance risk is managed through an enterprise-wide compliance risk management program designed to monitor, detect and deter compliance issues. Our compliance and risk management policies assign primary responsibility and accountability for the management of compliance risk in the lines of business to business line management.
Information Security Risk oversight is performed by our Chief Information Security Officer who reports to the Chief Administrative Officer. Ocwen’s information security plans are developed to meet or exceed Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council standards.
Credit Risk
Consumer Credit Risk
The typical obligor credit-related risks inherent in maintaining a mortgage loan portfolio as an investment tend to impact us less than a typical long-term investor because we generally sell the mortgage loans that we originate in the secondary market shortly after origination through GSE and Ginnie Mae guaranteed securitizations and whole loan transactions. We are exposed to early payment defaults from the time that we originate a loan to the time that the loan is sold in the secondary market or shortly thereafter. Early payment defaults are monitored and loans are audited by our quality assurance teams for origination defects. Our exposure to early payment defaults remains very limited and we do not anticipate material losses from this exposure.
Servicing costs are generally higher on higher credit risk loans. In addition, higher credit risk loans are generally affected to a greater extent by an economic downturn or a deterioration of the housing market. An increase in delinquencies and foreclosure rates generally results in increased advances for delinquent principal and interest, taxes and insurance, foreclosure costs and the upkeep of vacant property in foreclosure. Interest expense on advances and higher operating expenses decrease
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the value of our servicing portfolio. We track the credit risk profile of our servicing portfolio, including the recoverability of advances, with a view to ensuring that changes in portfolio credit risk are identified on a timely basis.
We have loan repurchase and indemnification obligations arising from potential breaches of the representation and warranty provisions in connection with loans we sell in the secondary market. In the event of a breach of these representations and warranties, we may be required to repurchase a mortgage loan or indemnify the purchaser, and we may bear any subsequent loss on the mortgage loan.
We endeavor to minimize our losses from loan repurchases and indemnifications by focusing on originating or purchasing fully compliant mortgage loans and closely monitoring investor and agency eligibility requirements for loan sales. Our quality assurance teams perform independent testing related to the processing and underwriting of mortgage loans to investor guidelines prior to closing, as well as after the closing but before the sale of loans, to identify potential repurchase exposures due to breach of representations and warranties. In addition, we perform a comprehensive review of the loan files where we receive investor requests for repurchase and indemnification to establish the validity of the claims and determine our obligation. In limited circumstances, we may retain the full risk of loss on loans sold to the extent that the liquidation value of the asset collateralizing the loan is insufficient to cover the loan itself and associated servicing expenses. In instances where we have purchased loans from third parties, we usually have the ability to recover the loss from the third-party originator.
Counterparty Credit Risk
Counterparty credit risk represents the potential loss that may occur because a party to a transaction fails to perform according to the terms of the contract. We regularly evaluate the financial position and creditworthiness of our counterparties and disperse risk among multiple counterparties to the extent possible. We manage derivative counterparty credit risk by entering into financial instrument transactions through national exchanges, primary dealers or approved counterparties and using mutual margining agreements whenever possible to limit potential exposure.
Rithm is contractually obligated, pursuant to our agreements with them related to the Rights to MSRs, to make all advances required in connection with the loans underlying such MSRs. If Rithm’s advance financing facilities do not perform as envisaged or should Rithm otherwise be unable to meets its advance financing obligations, we would be required to meet our advance financing obligations with respect to the loans underlying these Rights to MSRs, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and servicing operations. Due to its concentration in our portfolio, we monitor Rithm’s payment performance, liquidity and capital on a regular basis.
Counterparty credit risk exists with our third-party originators, including our correspondent lenders, from whom we purchase originated mortgage loans. The third-party originators make certain representations and warranties to us when we acquire the mortgage loan from them, and they agree to reimburse us for losses incurred due to an origination defect. We become exposed to losses for origination defects if the third-party originator is not able to reimburse us for losses incurred for indemnification or repurchase. We mitigate this risk by monitoring purchase levels from our third-party originators (to reduce concentration risk), by performing regular quality control reviews of the third-party originators’ underwriting standards and by regular reviews of the creditworthiness of third-party originators.
Concentration Risk
Our Servicing segment has exposure to concentration risk and client retention risk. As of December 31, 2022, our servicing portfolio included significant client relationships with Rithm which represented 17% and 28% of our servicing portfolio UPB and loan count, respectively. The Rithm servicing portfolio accounts for approximately 68% of all delinquent loans that Ocwen services. During 2022, Rithm-related servicing fees retained by Ocwen represented approximately 13% of the total servicing and subservicing fees earned by Ocwen, net of servicing fees remitted to Rithm (excluding ancillary income). The current terms of our agreements with Rithm extend through December 2023.
Our Subservicing Agreements and Servicing Addendum with Rithm are in their Second Terms that end December 31, 2023, and may be terminated by Ocwen or Rithm without cause (in effect a non-renewal) by providing notice in advance of the end of the Second Term or the end of each one-year extension of the applicable terms after the Second Term. Ocwen must provide a notice of termination by July 1, 2023, with respect to the Second Term or by July 1 of each one-year extended term after the Second Term and Rithm must provide notice by October 1, 2023 with respect to the Second Term or by October 1 of each one-year extended term after the Second Term. At the end of the Second Term, subject to notice by October 1, 2023, Rithm has the right to terminate the Subservicing Agreements and Servicing Addendum for convenience. If Rithm exercised its right to terminate all or some of the agreements for convenience at the end of the Second Term on December 31, 2023, we might need to right-size certain aspects of our servicing business as well as the related corporate support functions.
In addition, as of December 31, 2022, our servicing portfolio also included a significant client relationship with MAV which represented 17% and 12% of our total servicing portfolio UPB and loan count, respectively. While our servicing agreement with MAV is non-cancellable and provides us with exclusivity, MAV is permitted to sell the underlying MSR without Ocwen’s consent after May 3, 2024.
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MAV has the right to terminate the Subservicing Agreement entirely in the event of certain events of default, including failure by Ocwen to meet financial or operational requirements, including service levels. MAV may also terminate the Subservicing Agreement in the event of a change of control of Ocwen or PMC. Termination of some or all of our subservicing rights due to sales by MAV or termination of the entire Subservicing Agreement for cause could result in the loss of a significant portion of Ocwen’s total subservicing portfolio and materially and adversely affect Ocwen’s business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Market conditions, including interest rates and future economic projections, could impact investor demand to hold MSRs, which may result in our loss of additional subservicing relationships, or significantly decrease the number of loans under such relationships.
The mortgaged properties securing the residential loans that we service are geographically dispersed throughout all 50 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories. The five largest concentrations of properties are located in California, Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey, comprising 42% of the number of loans serviced at December 31, 2022. California has the largest concentration with 16% of the total loans serviced.
AVAILABLE INFORMATION
Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports are made available free of charge through our website (www.ocwen.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, including Ocwen, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov. We have also posted on our website, and have available in print upon request (1) the charters for our Audit Committee, Compensation and Human Capital Committee, Nomination/Governance Committee and Risk and Compliance Committee, (2) our Corporate Governance Guidelines, (3) our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and (4) our Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our common stock involves significant risk. We describe below material risks that management believes affect or could affect us. Understanding these risks is important to understanding any statement in this Annual Report and to evaluating an investment in our common stock. You should carefully read and consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report before you make any decision regarding an investment in our common stock. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. If this were to happen, the value of our common stock could significantly decline, and you could lose some or all of your investment. While the following discussion provides a description of material risks that could cause our results to vary materially from those expressed in public statements or documents, other factors besides those discussed within this Annual Report or elsewhere in other of our reports filed with or furnished to the SEC could also affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Summary of Risk Factors
As a non-bank mortgage company, we are exposed in the normal course of business to multiple risks shared by other participants in our industry. In addition, some of the risks we face are unique to Ocwen or such risks could have a different or greater impact on Ocwen than on other companies. These risks could adversely impact our business, regulatory or agency approval, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, ability to grow and reputation, and are summarized below. This summary is intended to supplement, and should not be considered a substitute for, the complete Risk Factors that follow.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
•Failure to operate our business in compliance with complex legal or regulatory requirements or contractual obligations
•Adverse litigation outcomes with the CFPB or other legal matters
•Adverse changes to GSE and Ginnie Mae business models, initiatives and other actions
Risks Related to Our Financial Performance, Financing Our Business, Liquidity and Net Worth, and the Economy
•Inability to execute our strategic plan to return to sustainable profitability or pursue business or asset acquisitions
•Inability to access capital to meet the financing requirements of our business, or noncompliance with our debt agreements or covenants
•Inability to obtain sufficient servicer advance financing necessary to meet the financing requirements due to increased delinquencies or forbearance plans
•Inability to obtain sufficient warehouse financing necessary to meet the financing requirements for reverse mortgage loan repurchases or draws
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•Failure to satisfy current or future minimum net worth and liquidity requirements established by regulators, GSEs, Ginnie Mae, lenders, or other counterparties
•Policies or regulations adopted by the GSEs or Ginnie Mae that may be more advantageous to our competitors’ business models than our own
•Inability to appropriately manage liquidity, interest rate and foreign currency exchange risks, including ineffective hedging strategies
•Inability to control decisions made by the management of MSR Asset Vehicle LLC which potentially impact our subservicing portfolio, funding for growth in our originations business and the profitability of our investment
•Economic slowdown or downturn, a capital market disruption, or a deterioration of the housing market, including but not limited to, in the states where we have some concentration of our business
•Inability to acquire additional profitable client relationships
•Inability to meet future advance financing obligations if Rithm were to fail to comply with its servicing advance obligations under the subservicing agreement
Operational Risks and Other Risks Related to Our Business
•Disruption in our operations or technology systems due to the failure or disagreements of our service providers to fulfill their obligations under their agreements with us, including but not limited to Black Knight Financial Services, Inc. (Black Knight)
•Failure by us or our vendors to adequately update technology systems and processes, interruption or delay in our or our vendors’ operations due to cybersecurity breaches or system failures, and resulting economic loss or regulatory penalties
•Adverse changes in political or economic stability or government policies in the U.S., India, the Philippines or the USVI
•Disruption in our operations and reduced profitability in our servicing operations as a result of severe weather or natural disaster events
•Material increase in loan put-backs and related liabilities for breaches of representations and warranties regarding sold loans or MSRs
•Heightened reputational risk due to media and regulatory scrutiny of companies that originate and securitize reverse mortgages
•Incurrence of losses by our captive reinsurance entity from catastrophic events, particularly in areas where a significant portion of the insured properties are located
•Incurrence of litigation costs and related losses if the validity of a foreclosure action is challenged by a borrower or if a court overturns a foreclosure
•Failure to maintain minimum servicer ratings and impairment of our ability to sell or fund servicing advances, access financing, consummate future servicing transactions, and maintain our status as an approved servicer by the GSEs
•Volatility of our earnings due to MSR valuation changes, financial instrument valuation changes and other factors
•Loss of the confidence of investors and counterparties if we fail to reasonably estimate the fair value of our assets and liabilities or our internal controls over financial reporting are found to be inadequate
•Uncertainty or adverse impacts resulting from the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate
Tax Risks
•Changes in tax law and interpretations and tax challenges
•Failure to retain or collect the tax benefits provided by the USVI, or certain past income becoming subject to increased U.S. federal income taxation
•Inability to utilize our net operating losses carryforwards and other deferred tax assets due to “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code or other factors
Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Common Stock
•Substantial volatility in our common stock price
•The vote by large shareholders of their shares to influence matters requiring shareholder approval in a way that management does not believe represents the best interests of all shareholders
•The issuance of additional securities authorized by the board of directors that causes dilution and depresses the price of our securities
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•Future offerings of debt securities that are senior to our common stock in liquidation, or equity securities that are senior to our common stock in respect of liquidation and distributions
•Certain provisions in our organizational documents and regulatory restrictions may make takeovers more difficult, and significant investments in our common stock may be restricted
Legal and Regulatory Risks
The business in which we engage is complex and heavily regulated. If we fail to operate our business in compliance with both existing and future regulations, our business, reputation, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Our business is subject to extensive regulation by federal, state, local and foreign governmental authorities, including the CFPB, HUD, the SEC and various state agencies that license and conduct examinations of our servicing and lending activities. In addition, we operate under a number of regulatory settlements that subject us to ongoing reporting and other obligations. See the next risk factor below for additional detail concerning these regulatory settlements. From time to time, we also receive requests (including requests in the form of subpoenas and civil investigative demands) from federal, state and local agencies for records, documents and information relating to our servicing and lending activities. The GSEs (and their conservator, the FHFA), Ginnie Mae, the United States Treasury Department, various investors, non-Agency securitization trustees and others also subject us to periodic reviews and audits.
In the current regulatory environment, we have faced and expect to continue to face heightened regulatory and public scrutiny as an organization as well as stricter and more comprehensive regulation of the entire mortgage sector. We must devote substantial resources to regulatory compliance, and we incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant ongoing costs to comply with new and existing laws and governmental regulation of our business. If we fail to effectively manage our regulatory and contractual compliance, the resources we are required to devote and our compliance expenses would likely increase. Any significant delay or complication in fulfilling our regulatory commitments and resolving remaining legacy matters may jeopardize our ability to return to sustainable profitability.
We must comply with a large number of federal, state and local consumer protection and other laws and regulations including, among others, the CARES Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the TCPA, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the FDCPA, RESPA, TILA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Homeowners Protection Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, as well as individual state laws pertaining to licensing, general mortgage origination and servicing practices and foreclosure and federal and local bankruptcy rules. These laws and regulations apply to all facets of our business, including, but not limited to, licensing, loan originations, consumer disclosures, default servicing and collections, foreclosure, filing of claims, registration of vacant or foreclosed properties, handling of escrow accounts, payment application, interest rate adjustments, assessment of fees, loss mitigation, use of credit reports, handling of unclaimed property, safeguarding of non-public personally identifiable information about our customers, and the ability of our employees to work remotely. These complex requirements can and do change as laws and regulations are enacted, promulgated, amended, interpreted and enforced. In addition, we must maintain an effective corporate governance and compliance management system. See “Business - Regulation” for additional information regarding our regulators and the laws that apply to us.
We must structure and operate our business to comply with applicable laws and regulations and the terms of our regulatory settlements. This can require judgment with respect to the requirements of such laws and regulations and such settlements. While we endeavor to engage proactively with our regulators in an effort to ensure we do so correctly, if we fail to interpret correctly the requirements of such laws and regulations or the terms of our regulatory settlements, we could be found to be in breach of such laws, regulations or settlements.
Failure or alleged failure to comply with the terms of our regulatory settlements or applicable federal, state and local consumer protection laws, regulations and licensing requirements could lead to any of the following:
•administrative fines and penalties and litigation;
•loss of our licenses and approvals to engage in our servicing and lending businesses;
•governmental investigations and enforcement actions;
•civil and criminal liability, including class action lawsuits and actions to recover incentive and other payments made by governmental entities;
•breaches of covenants and representations under our servicing, debt or other agreements;
•damage to our reputation;
•inability to raise capital or otherwise secure the necessary financing to operate the business and refinance maturing liabilities;
•changes to our operations that may otherwise not occur in the normal course, and that could cause us to incur significant costs; or
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•inability to execute on our business strategy.
Any of these outcomes could materially and adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
In recent years, the general trend among federal, state and local legislative bodies and regulatory agencies as well as state attorneys general has been toward increasing laws, regulations, investigative proceedings and enforcement actions with regard to residential mortgage lenders and servicers. The CFPB continues to take a very active role in the mortgage industry, and its rule-making and regulatory agenda relating to loan servicing and origination continues to evolve. Individual states have also been active, as have other regulatory organizations such as the MMC, a multistate coalition of various mortgage banking regulators. In addition to their traditional focus on licensing and examination matters, certain regulators make observations, recommendations or demands with respect to areas such as corporate governance, safety and soundness, and risk and compliance management. We must endeavor to work cooperatively with our regulators to understand all their concerns if we are to be successful in our business.
The CFPB and state regulators have also increasingly focused on the use, and adequacy, of technology in the mortgage servicing industry, privacy concerns and other topical issues, such as the discontinuation of LIBOR, communications from debt collectors and the ability of borrowers to repay mortgage loans, including in relation to COVID-19. See below as well as Business - Regulation for additional information regarding the rules, regulations and legislative developments most pertinent to our operations.
Presently, a level of heightened uncertainty exists with respect to the future of regulation of mortgage lending and servicing. We cannot predict the specific legislative or executive actions that may result or what actions federal or state regulators might take in response to potential changes to the federal regulatory environment generally. Such actions could impact the industry generally or us specifically, could impact our relationships with other regulators, and could adversely impact our business and limit our ability to reach an appropriate resolution with the CFPB, as described in the next risk factor.
New regulatory and legislative measures, or changes in enforcement practices, including those related to the technology we use, could, either individually or in the aggregate, require significant changes to our business practices, impose additional costs on us, limit our product offerings, limit our ability to efficiently pursue business opportunities, negatively impact asset values or reduce our revenues. Accordingly, they could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Finally, the regulations and requirements to which we are subject have been changing rapidly as the GSEs, Ginnie Mae, the United States Treasury Department and state regulators have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, allowing borrowers affected by COVID-19 to request temporary loan forbearance for federally backed mortgage loans. Multiple forbearance programs, moratoria of foreclosure and eviction and other requirements to assist borrowers enduring financial hardship due to COVID-19 have been issued by states, agencies and regulators. In addition, the CFPB promulgated certain amendments to RESPA (Regulation X) that became effective on August 31, 2021 and that impose additional COVID-19-related requirements with respect to loss mitigation, early intervention call requirements, and initiating new foreclosures before January 1, 2022. The requirements described above vary across jurisdiction, may conflict in some circumstances, can be complex to interpret and implement, and could cause us to incur additional expense. If we are unable to comply with, or face allegations that we are in breach of, applicable laws, regulations or other requirements, we may face regulatory action, including fines, penalties, and restrictions on our business. In addition, we could face litigation and reputational damage. Any of these risks could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and new variants of the virus emerge, there may be a further increase in regulations, which could exacerbate these risks and their adverse impacts.
Governmental bodies have taken regulatory and legal actions against us in the past and may in the future impose regulatory fines or penalties or impose additional requirements or restrictions on our activities that could increase our operating expenses, reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, ability to grow and reputation.
We are subject to a number of ongoing federal and state regulatory examinations, consent orders, inquiries, subpoenas, civil investigative demands, requests for information and other actions that could result in further adverse regulatory action against us, including certain matters summarized below. See Note 23 — Regulatory Requirements and Note 25 — Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
CFPB
In April 2017, the CFPB filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Southern District of Florida against Ocwen, OMS and OLS alleging violations of federal consumer financial laws relating to our servicing business dating back to 2014. The CFPB’s claims include allegations regarding (1) the adequacy of Ocwen’s servicing system and integrity of Ocwen’s
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mortgage servicing data, (2) Ocwen’s foreclosure practices and (3) various purported servicer errors with respect to borrower escrow accounts, hazard insurance policies, timely cancellation of private mortgage insurance, handling of customer complaints, and marketing of optional products. The CFPB alleges violations of unfair, deceptive acts or abusive practices, as well as violations of specific laws or regulations. The CFPB does not claim specific monetary damages, although it does seek consumer relief, disgorgement of allegedly improper gains, and civil money penalties. In April 2021, following the filing of motions by the parties and a number of procedural developments, the court entered final judgment in our favor and closed the case. The CFPB appealed the judgment. In April 2022, the Eleventh Circuit ruled on the appeal, largely adopting the district court’s decision in our favor, but vacating and remanding the case back to the district court to determine which, if any claims are not covered and may still be brought by the CFPB. Neither party sought rehearing of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision. Supplemental briefing at the district court was completed in September 2022 and we await the court’s determination. While we believe we have factual and legal defenses to the CFPB’s allegations and are vigorously defending ourselves, the outcome of the matters raised by the CFPB, whether through negotiated settlements, court rulings or otherwise, could potentially involve monetary fines or penalties or additional restrictions on our business and could have a material adverse impact on our business, reputation, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. We expect the CFPB to resume its supervision activities of Ocwen upon conclusion of this matter.
State Licensing and State Attorneys General
Our licensed entities are required to renew their licenses, typically on an annual basis, and to do so they must satisfy the license renewal requirements of each jurisdiction, which generally include financial requirements such as providing audited financial statements or satisfying minimum net worth requirements and non-financial requirements such as satisfactorily completing examinations as to the licensee’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The minimum net worth requirements to which our licensed entities are subject are unique to each state and type of license. We believe our licensed entities were in compliance with all of their minimum net worth requirements at December 31, 2022. However, it is possible that regulators could disagree with our calculations, and one state regulator has disagreed with our calculation for a prior year period; we have discussed the matter with the regulator, including why we believe we were in compliance with the applicable net worth requirements. Failure to satisfy any of the requirements to which our licensed entities are subject could result in a variety of regulatory actions ranging from a fine, a directive requiring a certain step to be taken, a suspension or, ultimately, a revocation of a license, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
In April 2017 and shortly thereafter, mortgage and banking regulatory agencies from 29 states and the District of Columbia took regulatory actions against OLS and certain other Ocwen companies that alleged deficiencies in our compliance with laws and regulations relating to our servicing and lending activities. These regulatory actions generally took the form of orders styled as “cease and desist orders” and prohibited a range of actions relating to our lending and servicing activities. In addition, the Florida Attorney General and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation brought a lawsuit on similar grounds, as did the Massachusetts Attorney General. In resolving these matters, we entered into agreements containing restrictions and commitments with respect to the operation of our business and our regulatory compliance activities, including restrictions and conditions relating to acquisitions of MSRs, a transition to an alternate loan servicing system from the REALServicing system, engagement of third-party auditors, escrow and data testing, loss mitigation solicitations, error remediation, and financial condition reporting. We also provided certain borrower financial remediation and made payments to state regulators and attorneys general.
We have incurred significant costs complying with the terms of these settlements. To the extent that legal or other actions are taken against us by regulators or others with respect to matters, they could result in additional costs or other adverse impacts and could have a materially adverse impact on our business, reputation, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
In January 2018, prior to our acquisition of PHH, PMC entered into a settlement agreement with the MMC and consent orders with certain state attorneys general to resolve and close out findings of an MMC examination of PMC’s legacy mortgage servicing practices. Under the terms of these settlements, PMC agreed to comply with certain servicing standards, to conduct testing of compliance with such servicing standards for a period of three years, and to report to the MMC regarding the same. We believe we complied with these obligations, and the three-year period has ended.
We continue to work with the NY DFS to address matters they raise with us as well as to fulfill our commitments under the 2017 NY Consent Order and PHH acquisition conditional approval. To the extent that we fail to address adequately any concerns raised by the NY DFS or fail to fulfill our commitments to the NY DFS, the NY DFS could take regulatory action against us, including imposing fines or penalties or otherwise restricting our business activities. Any such actions could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition liquidity and results of operations.
Other Matters
On occasion, we engage with agencies of the federal government on various matters, including the Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General of HUD, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and the VA Office of the Inspector General. In addition to the expense of responding to subpoenas and other requests for information
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from such agencies, in the event that any of these engagements result in allegations of wrongdoing by us, we may incur fines or penalties or significant legal expenses defending ourselves against such allegations.
In the past, we have entered into significant settlements with the NY DFS, the CA DFPI, and the 2013 Ocwen National Mortgage Settlement which involved payments of significant monetary amounts, monitoring by third-party firms for which we were financially responsible and other restrictions on our business. While we are not currently subject to active monitorships under these settlements, we remain obligated to comply with the commitments made to our regulators and if we violate those commitments one or more of these entities could take regulatory action against us. Any future settlements or other regulatory actions against us could have a material adverse impact on our business, reputation, operating results, liquidity and financial condition will be adversely affected.
To the extent that an examination or other regulatory engagement results in an alleged failure by us to comply with applicable laws, regulations or licensing requirements, or if allegations are made that we have failed to comply with applicable laws, regulations or licensing requirements or the commitments we have made in connection with our regulatory settlements (whether such allegations are made through administrative actions such as cease and desist orders, through legal proceedings or otherwise) or if other regulatory actions of a similar or different nature are taken in the future against us, this could lead to (i) administrative fines, penalties and litigation, (ii) loss of our licenses and approvals to engage in our servicing and lending businesses, (iii) governmental investigations and enforcement actions, (iv) civil and criminal liability, including class action lawsuits and actions to recover incentive and other payments made by governmental entities, (v) breaches of covenants and representations under our servicing, debt or other agreements, (vi) damage to our reputation, (vii) inability to raise capital or otherwise secure the necessary funding to operate the business, (viii) changes to our operations that may otherwise not occur in the normal course, and that could cause us to incur significant costs, and (ix) inability to execute on our business strategy. Any of these outcomes could increase our operating expenses and reduce our revenues, hamper our ability to grow or otherwise materially and adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our regulatory settlements and public allegations regarding our business practices by regulators and other third parties may affect other regulators’, rating agencies’, and creditors’ perceptions, which could adversely impact our financial results and ongoing operations.
Our regulatory settlements and public allegations regarding our business practices by regulators and other third parties may affect other regulators’, rating agencies’ and creditors’ perceptions of us. As a result, our ordinary course interactions with regulators may be adversely affected. We may incur additional compliance costs and management time may be diverted from other aspects of our business to address regulatory issues. It is possible that we may incur additional fines or penalties or even that we could lose the licenses and approvals necessary to engage in our servicing and lending businesses. In addition, certain regulators make observations, recommendations or demands with respect to areas such as corporate governance, safety and soundness and risk and compliance management, which could require us to incur additional expense or which could result in the imposition of additional requirements such as liquidity and capital requirements or restrictions on business conduct such as engaging in stock repurchases. To the extent that rating agencies or creditors perceive us negatively, our servicer or credit ratings could be adversely impacted and our access to funding could be limited.
If regulators allege that we do not comply with the terms of our regulatory settlements, or if we enter into future regulatory settlements, it could significantly impact our ability to maintain and grow our servicing portfolio.
Our servicing portfolio naturally decreases over time as homeowners make regularly scheduled mortgage payments, prepay loans prior to maturity, refinance with a mortgage loan not serviced by us or involuntarily liquidate through foreclosure or other liquidation process. Our ability to maintain or grow the size of our servicing portfolio depends on our ability to acquire the right to service or subservice additional pools of mortgage loans or to originate additional loans for which we retain the MSRs.
Historically, our regulatory settlements significantly impacted our ability to maintain or grow our servicing portfolio because we agreed to certain restrictions that effectively prohibited future bulk acquisitions of residential servicing. While certain of these restrictions have been eased in connection with our resolution of state regulatory matters and acquisition of PHH, we are still restricted in our ability to grow our portfolio under the terms of our agreements with the NY DFS. If we are unable to satisfy the conditions of the regulatory commitments we made to these and other regulators, or if a future regulatory settlement restricts our ability to acquire MSRs, we will be unable to grow or even maintain the size of our servicing portfolio through acquisitions and our business could be materially and adversely affected. Moreover, even when regulatory restrictions are lifted, the reputational damage done by these actions may inhibit our ability to acquire new business.
If we are unable to respond timely and effectively to routine or other regulatory examinations and borrower complaints, our business and financial conditions may be adversely affected.
Regulatory examinations by state and federal regulators are part of our ordinary course business activities. If we are unable to respond effectively to regulatory examinations, our business and financial conditions may be adversely affected. In addition, we receive various escalated borrower complaints and inquiries from our state and federal regulators and state Attorneys
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General and are required to respond within the time periods prescribed by such entities. If we fail to respond effectively and timely to regulatory examinations and escalations, legal action could be taken against us by such regulators and, as a result, we may incur fines or penalties or we could lose the licenses and approvals necessary to engage in our servicing and lending businesses. We could also suffer from reputational harm and become subject to private litigation.
Private legal proceedings and related costs alleging failures to comply with applicable laws or regulatory requirements could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to various pending private legal proceedings, including purported class actions, challenging whether certain of our loan servicing practices and other aspects of our business comply with applicable laws and regulatory requirements. For example, we are currently a defendant in various matters alleging that (1) certain fees imposed on borrowers relating to payment processing, payment facilitation, or payment convenience violate state laws similar to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, (2) certain fees we assess on borrowers are marked up improperly in violation of applicable state and federal law, (3) we breached fiduciary duties we purportedly owe to benefit plans due to the discretion we exercise in servicing certain securitized mortgage loans, (4) certain legacy mortgage reinsurance arrangements violated RESPA, and (5) we failed to subservice loans appropriately pursuant to subservicing and other agreements. In the future, we are likely to become subject to other private legal proceedings alleging failures to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including putative class actions, in the ordinary course of our business. While we do not currently believe that the resolution of the vast majority of the legal proceedings we face will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations, we cannot express a view with respect to all of these proceedings. The outcome of any pending legal matter is never certain, and it is possible that adverse results in private legal proceedings could materially and adversely affect our financial results and operations. We have paid significant amounts to settle private legal proceedings in recent periods and paid significant amounts in legal and other costs in connection with defending ourselves in such proceedings. To the extent we are unable to avoid such costs in future periods, our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
Non-compliance with laws and regulations could lead to termination of servicing agreements or defaults under our debt agreements.
Most of our servicing agreements and debt agreements contain provisions requiring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. While the specific language in these agreements takes many forms and materiality qualifiers are often present, if we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we could be terminated as a servicer and defaults could be triggered under our debt agreements, which could materially and adversely affect our revenues, cash flows, liquidity, business and financial condition. We could also suffer reputational damage and trustees, lenders and other counterparties could cease wanting to do business with us.
If new laws and regulations lengthen foreclosure times or introduce new regulatory requirements regarding foreclosure procedures, our operating costs and liquidity requirements could increase and we could be subject to regulatory action.
When a mortgage loan that we service is in foreclosure, we are generally required to continue to advance delinquent principal and interest to the securitization trust and to make advances for delinquent taxes and insurance and foreclosure costs and the upkeep of vacant property in foreclosure to the extent that we determine that such amounts are recoverable. These servicing advances are generally recovered when the delinquency is resolved or upon liquidation. Regulatory actions that lengthen the foreclosure process will increase the amount of servicing advances that we are required to make, lengthen the time it takes for us to be reimbursed for such advances and increase the costs incurred during the foreclosure process.
Increased regulatory scrutiny and new laws and procedures could cause us to adopt additional compliance measures and incur additional compliance costs in connection with our foreclosure processes. We may incur legal and other costs responding to regulatory inquiries or any allegation that we improperly foreclosed on a borrower. We could also suffer reputational damage and could be fined or otherwise penalized if we are found to have breached regulatory requirements.
If we fail to comply with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected and our plans to expand our lending business could be adversely impacted.
The TRID rules include requirements relating to consumer facing disclosure and waiting periods to allow consumers to reconsider committing to loans after receiving required disclosures. If we fail to comply with the TRID rules, we may be unable to sell loans that we originate or purchase, or we may be required to sell such loans at a discount compared to other loans. We also could be subject to repurchase or indemnification claims from purchasers of such loans, including the GSEs. Additionally, loans might stay on our warehouse lines for longer periods before sale, which would increase our liquidity needs, holding costs and interest expense. We could also be subject to regulatory actions or private lawsuits.
In response to the TRID rules, we have implemented significant modifications and enhancements to our loan production processes and systems, and we continue to devote significant resources to TRID compliance. As regulatory guidance and enforcement and the views of the GSEs and other market participants such as warehouse loan lenders evolve, we may need to
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modify further our loan production processes and systems in order to adjust to evolution in the regulatory landscape and successfully operate our lending business. In such circumstances, if we are unable to make the necessary adjustments, our business and operations could be adversely affected and we may not be able to execute on our plans to grow our lending business.
Failure to comply with the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and related CFPB regulations could adversely impact our business.
HMDA requires financial institutions to report certain mortgage data in an effort to provide the regulators and the public with information that will help show whether financial institutions are serving the housing credit needs of the neighborhoods and communities in which they are located. The data points include information related to the loan applicant/borrower (e.g., age, ethnicity, race and credit score), the underwriting process, loan terms and fees, lender credits and interest rate, among others. The scope of the information available to the public could increase fair lending regulatory scrutiny and third-party plaintiff litigation, as the changes will expand the ability of regulators and third parties to compare a particular lender to its peers in an effort to determine differences among lenders in certain demographic borrower populations. We have devoted, and continue to devote, significant resources to establishing and maintaining systems and processes for complying with HMDA on an ongoing basis. If we are not successful in capturing and reporting the new HMDA data, and analyzing and correcting any adverse patterns, we could be exposed to regulatory actions and private litigation against us, we could suffer reputational damage and we could incur losses, any of which could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
There may be material changes to the laws, regulations, rules or practices applicable to reverse mortgage programs sponsored by HUD and FHA, and securitized by Ginnie Mae, which could materially and adversely affect us and the reverse mortgage industry as a whole.
The reverse mortgage industry is largely dependent upon rules and regulations implemented by HUD, FHA and Ginnie Mae. There can be no guarantee that HUD/FHA will retain Congressional authorization to continue the HECM program, which provides FHA government insurance for qualifying HECM loans, or that they will not make material changes to the laws, regulations, rules or practices applicable to reverse mortgage programs. For example, HUD previously implemented certain lending limits for the HECM program, and added credit-based underwriting criteria designed to assess a borrower’s ability and willingness to satisfy future tax and insurance obligations. In addition, Ginnie Mae’s participation in the reverse mortgage industry may be subject to economic and political changes that cannot be predicted. Any of the aforementioned circumstances could materially and adversely affect the performance of our reverse mortgage business and the value of our common stock.
Regulators continue to be active in the reverse mortgage space, including due to the perceived susceptibility of older borrowers to be influenced by deceptive or misleading marketing activities. Regulators have also focused on appraisal practices because reverse mortgages are largely dependent on collateral valuation. If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to the origination of reverse mortgages, we could be subject to adverse regulatory actions, including potential fines, penalties or sanctions, and our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Violations of fair lending and/or servicing laws could negatively affect our business.
Various federal, state and local laws have been enacted that are designed to discourage predatory lending and servicing practices. The federal Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA) prohibits inclusion of certain provisions in residential loans that have mortgage rates or origination costs in excess of prescribed levels and requires that borrowers be given certain additional disclosures prior to origination. Some states have enacted, or may enact, similar laws or regulations, which in some cases impose restrictions and requirements greater than are those in HOEPA. In addition, under the anti-predatory lending laws of some states, the origination of certain residential loans, including loans that are not classified as “high cost” loans under HOEPA or other applicable law, must satisfy a net tangible benefits test with respect to the related borrower. A failure by us to comply with these laws, to the extent we originate, service or acquire residential loans that are non-compliant with HOEPA or other predatory lending or servicing laws, could subject us, as an originator or a servicer, or as an assignee, in the case of acquired loans, to monetary penalties and could result in the borrowers rescinding the affected loans. Lawsuits have been brought in various states making claims against originators, servicers and assignees of high cost loans for violations of state law. Named defendants in these cases have included numerous participants within the secondary mortgage market. If we are found to have violated predatory or abusive lending laws, defaults could be declared under our debt or servicing agreements, we could suffer reputational damage, and we could incur losses, any of which could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to comply with FHA underwriting guidelines could adversely impact our business.
We must comply with FHA underwriting guidelines in order to successfully originate FHA loans. If we fail to do so, we may not be able collect on FHA insurance. In addition, we could be subject to allegations of violations of the False Claims Act
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asserting that we submitted claims for FHA insurance on loans that had not been underwritten in accordance with FHA underwriting guidelines. If we are found to have violated FHA underwriting guidelines, we could face regulatory penalties and damages in litigation, suffer reputational damage, and we could incur losses due to an inability to collect on such insurance, any of which could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to comply with U.S. and foreign laws and regulations applicable to our global operations could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
As a business with a global workforce, we need to ensure that our activities, including those of our foreign operations, comply with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and regulations. Various states have implemented regulations which specifically restrict the ability to perform certain servicing and originations functions offshore and, from time to time, various state regulators have scrutinized the operations of our foreign subsidiaries. Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could, among other things, result in restrictions on our operations, loss of licenses, fines, penalties or reputational damage and have an adverse effect on our business.
Failure to comply with the S.A.F.E. Act could adversely impact our business.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (the S.A.F.E. Act) requires the individual licensing and registration of those engaged in the business of loan origination. The S.A.F.E. Act is designed to improve accountability on the part of loan originators, combat fraud and enhance consumer protections by encouraging states to establish a national licensing system and minimum qualification requirements for applicants. Thus, Ocwen must ensure proper licensing for all employees who participate in certain specified loan origination activities. Failure to comply with the S.A.F.E. Act licensing requirements could adversely impact Ocwen’s origination business.
Risks Related to Our Financial Performance, Financing Our Business, Liquidity and Net Worth and the Economy
Our strategic plan to return to sustainable profitability may not be successful.
We are facing certain challenges and uncertainties that could have significant adverse effects on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The ability of management to appropriately address these challenges and uncertainties in a timely manner is critical to our ability to operate our business successfully.
Historical losses significantly eroded stockholders’ equity and weakened our financial condition. We established a set of key initiatives to achieve our objective of returning to sustainable profitability in the shortest timeframe possible within an appropriate risk and compliance environment, and generated net income in 2021 and 2022. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Overview-Business Initiatives.
There can be no assurance that we will continue to successfully execute on these initiatives, or that even if we do execute on these initiatives we will be able to return to sustained profitability. In addition to successful operational execution of our key initiatives, our success will also depend on market conditions and other factors outside of our control, including continued access to capital. If we continue to experience losses, our share price, business, reputation, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital to meet the financing requirements of our business, or if we fail to comply with our debt agreements, our business, financing activities, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
Our business requires substantial amounts of capital and our financing strategy includes the use of leverage. Accordingly, our ability to finance our operations and repay maturing obligations rests in large part on our ability to continue to borrow money at reasonable rates. If we are unable to maintain adequate financing, or other sources of capital are not available, we could be forced to suspend, curtail or reduce our revenue generating objectives, which could harm our results of operations, liquidity, financial condition and business prospects. Our ability to borrow money is affected by a variety of factors including:
•limitations imposed on us by existing debt agreements that contain restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to raise additional debt;
•credit market conditions;
•the potential for ongoing disruption in the financial markets and in commercial activity generally related to changes in monetary and fiscal policy, international events including the conflict in Ukraine and other sources of instability;
•the strength of the lenders from whom we borrow;
•lenders’ perceptions of us or our sector;
•changes in interest rates or other drivers that affect the value of pledged collateral;
•corporate credit and servicer ratings from rating agencies;
•limitations on borrowing under our MSR and advance facilities and mortgage loan warehouse facilities due to structural features in these facilities and the amount of eligible collateral that is pledged; and
•revenue opportunities including products not currently supported in the financing market.
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In addition, our advance facilities are revolving facilities, and in a typical monthly cycle, we repay a portion of the borrowings under these facilities from collections. During the remittance cycle, which starts in the middle of each month, we depend on our lenders to provide the cash necessary to make the advances that we are required to make as servicer. If one or more of these lenders were to restrict our ability to access these revolving facilities or were to fail, we may not have sufficient funds to meet our obligations. We typically require significantly more liquidity to meet our advance funding obligations than our available cash on hand.
Our advance financing facilities are comprised of revolving notes issued to large financial institutions that generally have a revolving period of 12 months. At December 31, 2022, we had $513.7 million outstanding under these facilities. The revolving periods for our advance financing facilities end in August 2023, except for $1.2 million outstanding under a facility maturing in May 2026.
In the event we are unable to renew, replace or extend the revolving period of one or more of these advance financing facilities, we would no longer have access to available borrowing capacity and repayment of the outstanding balances on the revolving notes must begin at the end of the applicable revolving period. In addition, we use mortgage loan warehouse facilities to fund newly originated loans, HECM tails, buyouts and a number of other assets on a short-term basis until they are sold to secondary market investors, including GSEs or other third-party investors. Currently, our master repurchase and participation agreements for financing new loan originations generally have maximum terms of 364 days, and similar to the revolving notes in the advance financing facilities, they are typically renewed, replaced or extended annually. At December 31, 2022, we had $702.7 million outstanding under these warehouse financing arrangements, all under agreements maturing in 2023.
In 2019, we entered into three separate MSR financing arrangements related to loans we service for (i) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, (ii) Ginnie Mae, and (iii) private investors (PLS MSRs). The Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae facilities were provided through bank financing and had total capacity of $450.0 million and $175.0 million and borrowed amounts of $309.8 million and $157.9 million, respectively at December 31, 2022. The PLS MSR financing was issued to capital markets investors as an amortizing note structure with an initial principal amount of $100.0 million, replaced with a new series of notes in 2022 with an initial principal amount of $75.0 million. The Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae facilities terminate in June 2023 and April 2023, respectively, and the PLS MSR facility matures in February 2025. In 2021, we entered into a facility which includes a $135.0 million term loan and a $285.0 million revolving loan secured by a lien on our Agency MSRs. In November, 2022, the term loan was paid off and the revolving loan capacity was upsized to $400.0 million. Any outstanding borrowings on the revolving loan will convert into a term loan upon the two-year anniversary of the closing of the November 2022 amendment. The final maturity date of the term loan is December 2025. MSR financing is dependent on investor appetite and conditions in the capital markets, among other factors. As a result, MSR financing may not be readily available to finance the growth of our portfolio, or at rates and terms that may not be favorable to our business.
Our MSR financing facilities provide funding based on an advance rate of MSR value that is subject to periodic mark-to-market valuation adjustments (MSR valuation is expected to decline if market interest rates decline). In the normal course, and without any additions to our MSR portfolio from production or acquisition activities, MSR value is expected to decline over time due to run off of the loan balances in our servicing portfolio. As a result, we anticipate having to repay a portion of our MSR debt over a given time period. The requirements to repay MSR debt including those due to unfavorable fair value adjustment attributable to interest rates or other factors may require us to allocate a substantial amount of our available liquidity or future cash flows to meet these requirements. To the extent we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet these requirements, we may be more constrained to invest in our business and fund other obligations, and our business, financing activities, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
We currently plan to renew, replace or extend all of the above debt agreements consistent with our historical experience. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew, replace or extend all our debt agreements on appropriate terms or at all and, if we fail to do so, we may not have adequate sources of funding for our business.
Our debt agreements contain various qualitative and quantitative covenants, including financial covenants, covenants to operate in material compliance with applicable laws and regulations, monitoring and reporting obligations and restrictions on our ability to engage in various activities, including but not limited to incurring or guarantying additional debt, paying dividends or making distributions on or purchasing equity interests of Ocwen and its subsidiaries, repurchasing or redeeming capital stock or junior capital, repurchasing or redeeming subordinated debt prior to maturity, issuing preferred stock, selling or transferring assets or making loans or investments or other restricted payments, entering into mergers or consolidations or sales of all or substantially all of the assets of Ocwen and its subsidiaries, creating liens on assets to secure debt, and entering into transactions with affiliates. As a result of the covenants to which we are subject, we may be limited in the manner in which we conduct our business and may be limited in our ability to engage in favorable business activities or raise additional capital to finance future operations or satisfy future liquidity needs. In addition, breaches or events that may result in a default under our debt agreements include, among other things, noncompliance with our covenants, nonpayment of principal or interest, material misrepresentations, the occurrence of a material adverse effect or material adverse change, insolvency, bankruptcy, certain material judgments and changes of control. Covenants and defaults of this type are commonly found in debt agreements such as
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ours. Certain of these covenants and defaults are open to subjective interpretation and, if our interpretation were contested by a lender, a court may ultimately be required to determine compliance or lack thereof. In addition, our debt agreements generally include cross default provisions such that a default under one agreement could trigger defaults under other agreements. If we fail to comply with our debt agreements and are unable to avoid, remedy or secure a waiver of any resulting default, we may be subject to adverse action by our lenders, including termination of further funding, acceleration of outstanding obligations, enforcement of liens against the assets securing or otherwise supporting our obligations and other legal remedies. In addition to these covenants, certain agreements also include trigger events which may lead to adverse actions such as acceleration of outstanding obligations, step down in advance rates and termination of further funding.
An actual or alleged default under any of our debt agreements, negative ratings action by a rating agency (including as a result of our increased leverage or erosion of net worth), the perception of financial weakness, an adverse action by a regulatory authority or GSE, a lengthening of foreclosure timelines or a general deterioration in the economy that constricts the availability of credit may increase our cost of funds and make it difficult for us to renew existing credit facilities or obtain new lines of credit. Any or all the above could have an adverse effect on our business, financing activities, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be unable to obtain sufficient servicer advance financing necessary to meet the financing requirements of our business, which could adversely affect our liquidity position and result in a loss of servicing rights.
We currently fund a substantial portion of our servicing advance obligations through our servicing advance facilities. Under normal market conditions, mortgage servicers typically have been able to renew or refinance these facilities. However, market conditions or lenders’ perceptions of us at the time of any renewal or refinancing may mean that we are unable to renew or refinance our advance financing facilities or obtain additional facilities on favorable terms or at all.
If we fail to satisfy minimum net worth and liquidity requirements established by regulators, GSEs, Ginnie Mae, lenders, or other counterparties, our business, financing activities, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
As a result of our servicing and loan origination activities, we are subject to minimum net worth and liquidity requirements established by state regulators, GSEs, Ginnie Mae, lenders, and other counterparties. Losses incurred in prior years have eroded our net worth. In addition, we must structure our business so each licensed entity satisfies the net worth and liquidity requirements applicable to it, which can be challenging.
The minimum net worth and liquidity requirements to which our licensed entities are subject vary by state and type of license. We must also satisfy the minimum net worth and liquidity requirements of the GSEs and Ginnie Mae in order to maintain our approved status with such agencies and the minimum net worth and liquidity requirements set forth in our agreements with our lenders.
Minimum net worth requirements and liquidity are generally calculated using specific adjustments that may require interpretation or judgment. Changes to these adjustments have the potential to significantly affect net worth and liquidity calculations and imperil our ability to satisfy future minimum net worth and liquidity requirements. We believe our licensed entities were in compliance with all of their minimum net worth and liquidity requirements at December 31, 2022. However, it is possible that regulators could disagree with our calculations. If we fail to satisfy minimum net worth or liquidity requirements, absent a waiver or other accommodation, we could lose our licenses or have other regulatory action taken against us, we could lose our ability to sell and service loans to or on behalf of the GSEs or Ginnie Mae, or it could trigger a default under our debt agreements. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financing activities, financial condition or results of operations.
On August 17, 2022, the FHFA and Ginnie Mae announced updated minimum financial eligibility requirements for GSE seller/servicers and Ginnie Mae issuers. The updated minimum financial eligibility requirements modify the definitions of tangible net worth and eligible liquidity, modify their minimum standard measurement and include a new risk-based capital ratio, among other changes. The majority of the updated requirements will become effective on September 30, 2023. On October 21, 2022, Ginnie Mae extended the compliance date for its risk-based capital requirements to December 31, 2024. We believe PMC would be in compliance with the updated requirements if the updated requirements were in effect as of December 31, 2022, except for the new risk-based capital requirement. We are currently evaluating the potential impacts of these updated requirements, the costs and benefits of achieving compliance, and possible courses of action involving external investor solutions, structural solutions or exiting Ginnie Mae forward originations and owned servicing activities. If we are unable to identify and execute a cost-effective solution that allows us to continue these businesses and are unable to replace the lost income from these activities, or if we misjudge the magnitude of the costs and benefits and their impacts on our business, our financial results could be negatively impacted. As of December 31, 2022, our forward owned servicing portfolio included 83,282 government-insured loans with a UPB of $12.7 billion, 10% of our total forward owned MSRs or 4% of our total UPB serviced and subserviced. In addition, during 2022, we originated and purchased a total of 6,148 forward government-insured loans with a UPB of $2.0 billion, 11% of our total Originations UPB.
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We use estimates in measuring or determining the fair value of the majority of our assets and liabilities. If our estimates prove to be incorrect, we may be required to write down the value of these assets or write up the value of these liabilities, which could adversely affect our earnings.
Our ability to measure and report our financial position and operating results is influenced by the need to estimate the impact or outcome of future events based on information available at the time of the financial statements. An accounting estimate is considered critical if it requires that management make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made. If actual results differ from our judgments and assumptions, then it may have an adverse impact on the results of operations and cash flows.
Fair value is estimated based on a hierarchy that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques into three broad levels whereby the highest priority is given to Level 1 inputs and the lowest to Level 3 inputs.
At December 31, 2022, 87% and 71% of our consolidated total assets and liabilities are measured at fair value, respectively, on a recurring and nonrecurring basis, 95% and 100% of which are considered Level 3 valuations, including our MSR portfolio. Our largest Level 3 asset and liability carried at fair value on a recurring basis is Loans held for investment - reverse mortgages and the related secured financing. We pool home equity conversion mortgages (reverse mortgages) into Ginnie Mae Home Equity Conversion Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS). Because the securitization of reverse mortgage loans does not qualify for sale accounting, we account for these transfers as secured financings and classify the transferred reverse mortgages as Loans held for investment - reverse mortgages and recognize the related Financing liabilities. Holders of HMBS have no recourse against our assets, except for standard representations and warranties and our contractual obligations to service the reverse mortgages and HMBS.
We estimate the fair value of our assets and liabilities utilizing assumptions that we believe are appropriate and are used by market participants. We generally engage third-party valuation experts to support our fair value determination for Level 3 assets and liabilities. The methodology used to estimate these values is complex and uses asset- and liability-specific data and market inputs for assumptions including interest and discount rates, collateral status and expected future performance. If these assumptions prove to be inaccurate, if market conditions change or if errors are found in our models, the value of certain of our assets may decrease, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, including through negative impacts on our ability to satisfy minimum net worth and liquidity covenants.
Valuations are highly dependent upon the reasonableness of our assumptions and the predictability of the relationships that drive the results of our valuation methodologies. If changes to interest rates or other factors cause prepayment speeds to increase more than estimated, delinquency and default levels are higher than anticipated or financial market illiquidity is greater than anticipated, we may be required to adjust the value of certain assets or liabilities, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are exposed to liquidity, interest rate and foreign currency exchange risks.
We are exposed to liquidity risk primarily because of the highly variable daily cash requirements to support our servicing business, including the requirement to make advances pursuant to our servicing agreements and the process of collecting and applying recoveries of advances. We are also exposed to liquidity risk due to potential accelerated repayment of our debt depending on the performance of the underlying collateral, including the fair value of MSRs, and certain covenants or trigger events, among other factors. We are also exposed to liquidity and interest rate risk by our decision to originate and finance mortgage loans and the timing of their subsequent sales into the secondary market. Further, as discussed below, the derivative instruments that we have entered into in order to limit MSR fair value change exposure may require margin calls should the hedge instrument lose value. In general, we finance our operations through operating cash flows and various other sources of funding, including advance match funded borrowing agreements, secured lines of credit and repurchase agreements.
We are exposed to interest rate risk to the degree that our interest-bearing liabilities mature or reprice at different speeds, or on different bases, than our interest earning assets or when financed assets are not interest-bearing. Our servicing business is characterized by non-interest earning assets financed by interest-bearing liabilities. Servicing advances are among our more significant non-interest earning assets. At December 31, 2022, we had total advances of $718.9 million. We are also exposed to interest rate risk because a portion of our advance financing and other outstanding debt at December 31, 2022 is at variable rates. Rising interest rates may increase our interest expense. Earnings on float balances may partially offset these higher funding costs.
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Our MSRs, which we carry at fair value, are subject to substantial interest rate risk, primarily because the mortgage loans underlying the servicing rights permit the borrowers to prepay the loans. A decrease in interest rates generally increases prepayment speeds and vice versa. An interest rate decrease could result in an array of fair value changes, the severity of which would depend on several factors, including the magnitude of the change, whether the decrease is across specific rate tenors or a parallel change across the entire yield curve, and impact from market-side adjustments, among others. Effective May 2021, management adopted a strategy of separately hedging our MSR portfolio and pipeline. The objective of our MSR policy is to provide partial hedge coverage of interest-rate sensitive MSR portfolio exposure, considering market and liquidity conditions. However, as discussed below, there can be no assurance that our hedging strategy will be effective in partially mitigating our exposure to changes in fair value of our MSRs due to interest rate changes.
In our Originations business, we are exposed to interest rate risk and related price risk on our pipeline (i.e., interest rate loan commitments (IRLCs) and mortgage loans held for sale) from the commitment date up until the date the commitment is cancelled or expires, or the loan is sold into the secondary market. Generally, the fair value of the pipeline will decline in value when interest rates increase and will rise in value when interest rates decrease. Effective May 2021, we separately hedge our pipeline interest rate risk with freestanding derivatives such as TBAs, futures, options and forward sale contracts.
We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk in connection with our investment in non-U.S. dollar currency operations to the extent that our foreign exchange positions remain unhedged. Our operations in the Philippines and India expose us to foreign currency exchange rate risk.
While we have established policies and procedures intended to identify, monitor and manage the risks described above, our risk management policies and procedures may not be effective. Further, such policies and procedures are not designed to mitigate or eliminate all of the risks we face. As a result, these risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our hedging strategy may not be successful in partially mitigating our exposure to interest rate risk.
Our hedging strategy may not be as effective as desired due to the actual performance of an MSR differing from the expected performance. While we actively track the actual performance of our MSRs across rate change environments, there is potential for our economic hedges to underperform. The underperformance may be a result of various factors, including the following: available hedge instruments have a different profile than the underlying asset, the duration of the hedge is different from the MSR, the convexity of the hedge is not proportional to the valuation change of the MSR asset, the counterparty with which we have traded has failed to deliver under the terms of the contract, or we fail to renew or adjust the hedge position in a timely or efficient manner.
Unexpected changes in market rates or secondary liquidity may have a materially adverse impact on the cash flows or operating performance of Ocwen. The expected hedge coverage profile may not correlate to the asset as desired, resulting in poorer performance than had we not hedged at all. In addition, hedging strategies involve transaction and other costs. We cannot be assured that our hedging strategy and the derivatives that we use will adequately offset the risks of interest rate volatility or that our hedging transactions will not result in or magnify losses.
Rising inflation may result in increased compensation and benefit expense and exacerbate pressures created by current labor market trends, increase the rates charged by vendors, and generally increase our operating costs, which could negatively impact our operations and financial results.
If recent trends in rising U.S. inflation rates continue, it may increase Ocwen’s costs of providing health insurance and other employee benefits, and increases in the cost of living may create upward pressure on wages. This pressure, combined with tightening labor markets resulting from elevated resignation rates among U.S. workers could increase the cost and difficulty of recruiting and retaining employees. In addition, inflation may increase the rates charged by our vendors and our operating expenses generally. Any of these risks could negatively impact our operations and financial results.
Growth of our subservicing portfolio and originations business, and the profitability of our investment in MAV, are partially dependent on decisions made by a third party which we do not control.
MAV is owned and managed by an intermediate holding company, MAV Canopy, which is controlled by a board of directors on which Ocwen has minority representation. As part of our agreements with MAV, Ocwen has agreed not to compete with MAV with respect to the purchase of certain GSE MSRs through specific channels. As a result of these arrangements, the growth of Ocwen’s GSE subservicing portfolio and originations business depends in part on MAV’s ability to successfully bid on MSRs and in turn on the pricing and valuation considerations underlying MAV’s bidding strategy. If, and to the extent, MAV were to have limited success acquiring MSRs, the growth of Ocwen’s subservicing portfolio and originations business could be negatively impacted. More broadly, MAV’s profitability depends on business, operating and financial strategies determined by the management of MAV Canopy, which Ocwen does not control. If MAV Canopy’s business, operating or financial strategies are not successful, Ocwen’s 15% investment or returns on its investment, which as of December 31, 2022
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amounted to $42.2 million, could be reduced or we may be requested to contribute additional capital. See the next risk factor below.
Because MAV Canopy may make additional capital calls without Ocwen’s consent, to the extent we are unable or unwilling to contribute additional capital to MAV Canopy when requested, our ownership in MAV Canopy will be diluted and our control over investment decisions and other matters may be reduced.
In November 2022, Ocwen and Oaktree agreed to increase the aggregate capital contributions to MAV Canopy by up to an additional $250 million during an investment period ending May 2, 2024, subject to two annual extensions upon mutual agreement. Under the agreement, Ocwen may elect to contribute up to its pro rata share of the additional capital commitment. To the extent Ocwen does not contribute its pro rata share of the additional capital commitment, the ownership percentages held by Ocwen and Oaktree will be adjusted based on the parties’ current percentage interests, capital contributions, and book value. Because Ocwen does not control the MAV Canopy board of directors, it is possible that MAV Canopy may exercise its right to make capital calls to fund additional MSR investments at times that Ocwen is unable to, or prefers for strategic reasons related to its own operations not to, contribute additional capital to MAV Canopy. To the extent we do not contribute additional capital to MAV Canopy, our ownership will be diluted. If our ownership of MAV Canopy falls below 5%, we will lose our voting rights on certain routine management matters at MAV Canopy and our influence over MAV’s management and investment decisions may be reduced.
GSE and Ginnie Mae initiatives and other actions may affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Due to the significant role that the GSEs and Ginnie Mae play in the secondary mortgage market, new initiatives and other actions that they may implement could become prevalent in the mortgage servicing industry generally. To the extent that FHFA, the GSEs, HUD, Ginnie Mae or other authoritative body implement reforms that materially affect the market not only for conventional and/or government-insured loans but also the non-qualifying loan markets, such reforms could have a material adverse effect on the creation of new MSRs, the economics or performance of any MSRs that we acquire, servicing fees that we can charge and costs that we incur to comply with new servicing requirements. Further, to the extent a GSE or Ginnie Mae proposal or requirement impacts our business model differently than our competitors’, we may face a competitive disadvantage.
In addition, our ability to generate revenues through mortgage loan sales to institutional investors depends to a significant degree on programs administered by the GSEs, Ginnie Mae, and others that facilitate the issuance of MBS in the secondary market. These entities play a critical role in the residential mortgage industry and we have significant business relationships with many of them. If it is not possible for us to complete the sale or securitization of certain of our mortgage loans due to changes in GSE and Ginnie Mae programs, we may lack liquidity to continue to fund mortgage loans and our revenues and margins on new loan originations would be materially and negatively impacted.
Our plans to acquire MSRs will require approvals and cooperation by the GSEs and Ginnie Mae. Should approval or cooperation be withheld, we would have difficulty meeting our MSR acquisition objectives.
There are various proposals that deal with the future of the GSEs, including with respect to their ownership and role in the mortgage market, as well as proposals to implement GSE reforms relating to borrowers, lenders and investors in the mortgage market. Thus, the long-term future of the GSEs remains uncertain. Any change in the ownership of the GSEs, or in their programs or role within the mortgage market, could materially and adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial position and results of operations.
An economic slowdown or a deterioration of the housing market could increase both interest expense on servicing advances and operating expenses and could cause a reduction in income from, and the value of, our servicing portfolio.
During any period in which a borrower is not making payments, we are required under most of our servicing contracts to advance our own funds to meet contractual principal and interest remittance requirements for investors, pay property taxes and insurance premiums and process modifications and foreclosures. We also advance funds to maintain, repair and market real estate properties on behalf of investors. Most of our advances have the highest standing and are “top of the waterfall” so that we are entitled to repayment from respective loan or REO liquidations proceeds before most other claims on these proceeds, and in the majority of cases, advances in excess of respective loan or REO liquidation proceeds may be recovered from pool level proceeds. Consequently, the primary impacts of an increase in advances are generally increased interest expense as we finance a large portion of servicing advance obligations and a decline in the fair value of MSRs as the projected funding cost of existing and future expected servicing advances is a component of the fair value of MSRs. Our liquidity is also negatively impacted because we must fund the portion of our advance obligations that is not financed. Our liquidity would be more severely impacted if we were unable to continue to finance a large portion of servicing advance obligations.
Higher delinquencies also decrease the fair value of MSRs and increase our cost to service loans, as loans in default require more intensive effort to bring them current or manage the foreclosure process. An increase in delinquencies may delay the timing of revenue recognition because we recognize servicing fees as earned, which is generally upon collection of payments from borrowers or proceeds from REO liquidations. An increase in delinquencies also generally leads to lower balances in
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custodial and escrow accounts (float balances) and lower net earnings on custodial and escrow accounts (float earnings). Additionally, an increase in delinquencies in our servicing portfolio will result in lower revenue because we collect servicing fees only on performing loans.
Foreclosures are involuntary prepayments resulting in a reduction in UPB. This may also result in declines in the value of our MSRs.
Adverse economic conditions could also negatively impact our lending businesses. For example, declining home prices and increasing loan-to-value ratios may preclude many borrowers from refinancing their existing loans or obtaining new loans.
Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
A significant increase in prepayment speeds could adversely affect our financial results.
Prepayment speed is a significant driver of our business. Prepayment speed is the measurement of how quickly borrowers pay down the UPB of their loans or how quickly loans are otherwise modified involving forgiveness of principal, liquidated or charged off. Prepayment speeds have a significant impact on our servicing fee revenues, our expenses and on the valuation of our MSRs as follows:
•Revenue. If prepayment speeds increase, our servicing fees will decline more rapidly than anticipated because of the greater decrease in the UPB on which those fees are based. The reduction in servicing fees would be somewhat offset by increased float earnings because the faster repayment of loans will result in higher float balances that generate the float earnings. Conversely, decreases in prepayment speeds result in increased servicing fees but lead to lower float balances and float earnings.
•Expenses. Faster prepayment speeds result in higher compensating interest expense, which represents the difference between the full month of interest we are required to remit in the month a loan pays off and the amount of interest we collect from the borrower for that month. Slower prepayment speeds also lead to lower compensating interest expense.
•Valuation of MSRs. The fair value of MSRs is based on, among other things, projection of the cash flows from the related pool of mortgage loans. The expectation of prepayment speeds is a significant assumption underlying those cash flow projections from the perspective of market participants. Increases or decreases in interest rates have an impact on prepayment rates. If prepayment speeds were significantly greater than expected, the fair value of our MSRs, which we carry at fair value, could decrease. When the fair value of these MSRs decreases, we record a loss on fair value, which also has a negative impact on our financial results.
Operational Risks and Other Risks Related to Our Business
If we do not comply with our obligations under our servicing agreements or if others allege non-compliance, our business and results of operations may be harmed.
We have contractual obligations under the servicing agreements pursuant to which we service mortgage loans. Our non-Agency servicing agreements generally contain detailed provisions regarding servicing practices, reporting and other matters. In addition, PMC is party to seller/servicer agreements and/or subject to guidelines and regulations (collectively, seller/servicer obligations) with one or more of the GSEs, HUD, FHA, VA and Ginnie Mae. These seller/servicer obligations include financial covenants that include capital requirements related to tangible net worth, as defined by the applicable agency, an obligation to provide audited consolidated financial statements within 90 days of the applicable entity’s fiscal year end as well as extensive requirements regarding servicing, selling and other matters. To the extent that these requirements are not met or waived, the applicable agency may, at its option, utilize a variety of remedies including requirements to provide certain information or take actions at the direction of the applicable agency, requirements to deposit funds as security for our obligations, sanctions, suspension or even termination of approved seller/servicer status, which would prohibit future originations or securitizations of forward or reverse mortgage loans or servicing for the applicable agency.
Many of our servicing agreements require adherence to general servicing standards, and certain contractual provisions delegate judgment over various servicing matters to us. Our servicing practices, and the judgments that we make in our servicing of loans, could be questioned by parties to these agreements, such as GSEs, Ginnie Mae, trustees or master servicers, or by investors in the trusts which own the mortgage loans or other third parties. As a result, we could be required to repurchase mortgage loans, make whole or otherwise indemnify such mortgage loan investors or other parties. Advances that we have made could be unrecoverable. We could also be terminated as servicer or become subject to litigation or other claims seeking damages or other remedies arising from alleged breaches of our servicing agreements. For example, we are currently involved in a dispute with a former subservicing client relating to alleged violations of our contractual agreements. We are unable to predict the outcome of this dispute or the size of any loss we might incur. In addition, several trustees are currently defending themselves against claims by RMBS investors that the trustees failed to properly oversee mortgage servicers - including Ocwen - in the servicing of hundreds of trusts. Trustees subject to those suits have informed Ocwen that they may seek indemnification for losses they suffer as a result of the filings.
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Any of the foregoing could have a significant negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Even if allegations against us lack merit, we may have to spend additional resources and devote additional management time to contesting such allegations, which would reduce the resources available to address, and the time management is able to devote to, other matters.
GSEs or Ginnie Mae may curtail or terminate our ability to sell, service or securitize newly originated loans to them.
As noted in the prior risk factor, if we do not comply with our seller/servicer obligations, the GSEs or Ginnie Mae may utilize a variety of remedies against us. Such remedies include curtailment of our ability to sell newly originated loans or even termination of our ability to sell, service or securitize such loans altogether. Any such curtailment or termination would likely have a material adverse impact on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
A significant reduction in, or the total loss of, our remaining Rithm-related servicing would significantly impact our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Rithm is our largest servicing client, accounting for 17% of the UPB and 28% of the loan count in our servicing portfolio as of December 31, 2022. On February 20, 2020, we received a notice of termination from Rithm with respect to the legacy PMC subservicing agreement. It is possible that Rithm could exercise its rights to terminate for convenience or opt not to renew some or all of our servicing agreements.
In addition, any failure under a financial covenant could result in Rithm terminating Ocwen as subservicer under the subservicing agreements or in directing the transfer of servicing away from Ocwen under the Rights to MSRs agreements. Similarly, failure by Ocwen to meet operational requirements, including service levels, critical reporting and other obligations, could also result in termination or transfer for cause. In addition, if there is a change of control to which Rithm did not consent, Rithm could terminate for cause and direct the transfer of servicing away from Ocwen. A termination for cause and transfer of servicing could materially and adversely affect Ocwen’s business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Further, under our Rights to MSRs agreements, in certain circumstances, Rithm has the right to sell its Rights to MSRs to a third-party and require us to transfer title to the related MSRs, subject to an Ocwen option to acquire at a price based on the winning third-party bid rather than selling to the third party. If Rithm sells its Rights to MSRs to a third party, the transaction can only be completed if the third-party buyer can obtain the necessary third-party consents to transfer the MSRs. Rithm also has the obligation to use reasonable efforts to encourage such third-party buyer to enter into a subservicing agreement with Ocwen. Ocwen may lose future compensation for subservicing, however, if no subservicing agreement is ultimately entered into with the third-party buyer.
Because of the large percentage of our servicing business that is represented by the agreements with Rithm, if Rithm exercised all or a significant portion of its rights to decline to continue doing business with us we anticipate that we would need to restructure many aspects of our servicing business as well as the related corporate support functions to address our smaller servicing portfolio.
If Rithm were to fail to comply with its servicing advance obligations under its agreements with us, it could materially and adversely affect us.
Under the Rights to MSRs agreements, Rithm is responsible for financing all servicing advance obligations in connection with the loans underlying the MSRs. At December 31, 2022, such servicing advances made by Rithm were approximately $501.9 million. However, under the Rights to MSRs structure, we are contractually required under our servicing agreements with the RMBS trusts to make the relevant servicing advances even if Rithm does not perform its contractual obligations to fund those advances. Therefore, if Rithm were unable to meet its advance financing obligations, we would remain obligated to meet any future advance financing obligations with respect to the loans underlying these Rights to MSRs, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and servicing operations.
Rithm currently uses advance financing facilities to fund a substantial portion of the servicing advances that Rithm is contractually obligated to make pursuant to the Rights to MSRs agreements. Although we are not an obligor or guarantor under Rithm’s advance financing facilities, we are a party to certain of the facility documents as the entity performing the work of servicing the underlying loans on which advances are being financed. As such, we make certain representations, warranties and covenants, including representations and warranties in connection with our sale of advances to Rithm. If we were to make representations or warranties that were untrue or if we were otherwise to fail to comply with our contractual obligations, we could become subject to claims for damages or events of default under such facilities could be asserted.
If MAV were to sell its MSR portfolio after May 3, 2024, it could result in our loss of subservicing income and could significantly impact our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
MAV is our second-largest subservicing client, accounting for 17% of the UPB and 12% of the loan count in our subservicing portfolio as of December 31, 2022. The Subservicing Agreement with MAV provides exclusivity rights to PMC as subservicer and will continue until terminated by mutual agreement of the parties or for cause, as defined. However, under the
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terms of our Subservicing Agreement, our subservicing rights terminate as to MSRs sold by MAV to any unaffiliated third party.
Prior to May 3, 2024, MAV may sell MSRs, in one or more sales, constituting up to 20% of MAV’s total assets without our consent. As of December 31, 2022, MAV has exercised these rights to sell MSRs with a book value (at the time of sale) of approximately $120 million, or approximately 20% of the portfolio (at the time of sale). After May 3, 2024, MAV may sell the entire servicing portfolio or any portion thereof without our consent (although we have a right of first offer with respect to the full or partial sale of the MAV entity itself). If MAV chooses to exercise these sale rights, and we are unable to reach an agreement with the purchaser(s) of the MSRs to continue as subservicer, we will lose the corresponding subservicing income. Further, if the MSRs sold by MAV include MSRs previously sold by PMC, we may recognize additional losses on the associated MSR and Pledged MSR liability reported at fair value on our consolidated balance sheets (see Note 11 — Investment in Equity Method Investee and Related Party Transactions).
In addition, MAV has the right to terminate the Subservicing Agreement entirely in the event of certain events of default, including failure by Ocwen to meet financial or operational requirements, including service levels. MAV may also terminate the Subservicing Agreement in the event of a change of control of Ocwen or PMC.
Termination of some or all of our subservicing rights due to sales by MAV or termination of the entire Subservicing Agreement for cause could result in the loss of a significant portion of Ocwen’s total subservicing portfolio and materially and adversely affect Ocwen’s business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Technology or process failures or employee misconduct could damage our business operations or reputation, harm our relationships with key stakeholders and lead to regulatory sanctions or penalties.
We are responsible for developing and maintaining sophisticated operational systems and infrastructure, which is challenging. As a result, operational risk is inherent in virtually all of our activities. In addition, the CFPB and other regulators have emphasized their focus on the importance of servicers’ and lenders’ systems and infrastructure operating effectively. If our systems and infrastructure fail to operate effectively, such failures could damage our business and reputation, harm our relationships with key stakeholders and lead to regulatory sanctions or penalties.
Our business is substantially dependent on our ability to process and monitor a large number of transactions, many of which are complex, across various parts of our business. These transactions often must adhere to the terms of a complex set of legal and regulatory standards, as well as the terms of our servicing and other agreements. In addition, given the volume of transactions that we process and monitor, certain errors may be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and rectified. For example, because we send over 2 million communications in an average month, a process problem such as erroneous letter dating has the potential to negatively affect many parts of our business and have widespread negative implications.
We are similarly dependent on our employees. We could be materially adversely affected if an employee or employees, acting alone or in concert with non-affiliated third parties, causes a significant operational break-down or failure, either because of human error or where an individual purposefully sabotages or fraudulently manipulates our operations or systems, including by means of cyberattack or denial-of-service attack. In addition to direct losses from such actions, we could be subject to regulatory sanctions or suffer harm to our reputation, financial condition, customer relationships, and ability to attract future customers or employees. Employee misconduct could prompt regulators to allege or to determine based upon such misconduct that we have not established adequate supervisory systems and procedures to inform employees of applicable rules or to detect and deter violations of such rules. It is not always possible to deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent misconduct may not be effective in all cases. Misconduct by our employees, or even unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct, could result in a material adverse effect on our reputation and our business.
Third parties with which we do business could also be sources of operational risk to us, including risks relating to break-downs or failures of such parties’ own systems or employees. Any of these occurrences could diminish our ability to operate one or more of our businesses or lead to potential liability to clients, reputational damage or regulatory intervention. We could also be required to take legal action against or replace third-party vendors, which could be costly, involve a diversion of management time and energy and lead to operational disruptions. Any of these occurrences could materially adversely affect us.
We are dependent on Black Knight and other vendors, service provider and other contractual counterparties for much of our technology, business process outsourcing and other services.
Our vendor relationships subject us to a variety of risks. We have significant exposure to third-party risks, as we are dependent on vendors, including Black Knight, Altisource and other vendors for a number of key services to operate our business effectively and in compliance with applicable regulatory and contractual obligations, and on banks and other financing sources to finance our business.
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We use the Black Knight MSP servicing system pursuant to a seven-year agreement with Black Knight expiring in 2026, and we are highly dependent on the successful functioning of it to operate our loan servicing business effectively and in compliance with our regulatory and contractual obligations. It would be difficult, costly and complex to transfer all of our loans to another servicing system in the event Black Knight failed to perform under its agreements with us and any such transfer would take considerable time. Any such transfer would also likely be subject us to considerable scrutiny from regulators, GSEs, Ginnie Mae and other counterparties.
If Black Knight were to fail to properly fulfill its contractual obligations to us, including through a failure to provide services at the required level to maintain and support our systems, our business and operations would suffer. In addition, if Black Knight fails to develop and maintain its technology so as to provide us with an effective and competitive servicing system, our business could suffer. Similarly, we are reliant on other vendors for the proper maintenance and support of our technological systems and our business and operations would suffer if these vendors do not perform as required. If our vendors do not adequately maintain and support our systems, including our servicing systems, loan originations and financial reporting systems, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Altisource and other vendors supply us with other services in connection with our business activities such as property preservation and inspection services and valuation services. In the event that a vendor’s activities do not comply with the applicable servicing criteria, we could be exposed to liability as the servicer and it could negatively impact our relationships with our servicing clients, borrowers or regulators, among others. In addition, if our current vendors were to stop providing services to us on acceptable terms, we may be unable to procure alternatives from other vendors in a timely and efficient manner and on acceptable terms, or at all. Further, we may incur significant costs to resolve any such disruptions in service and this could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition to our reliance on the vendors discussed above, our business is reliant on a number of technological vendors that provide services such as integrated cloud applications and financial institutions that provide essential banking services on a daily basis. Even short-terms interruptions in the services provided by these vendors and financial institutions could be disruptive to our business and cause us financial loss. Significant or prolonged disruptions in the ability of these companies to provide services to us could have a material adverse impact on our operations.
Certain provisions of the agreements underlying our relationships with our vendors, service providers, financing sources and other contractual counterparties could be open to subjective interpretation. Disagreements with these counterparties, including disagreements over contract interpretation, could lead to business disruptions or could result in litigation or arbitration or mediation proceedings, any of which could be expensive and divert senior management’s attention from other matters. While we have been able to resolve disagreements with these counterparties in the past, if we were unable to resolve a disagreement, a court, arbitrator or mediator might be required to resolve the matter and there can be no assurance that the outcome of a material disagreement with a contractual counterparty would not materially and adversely affect our business, financing activities, financial condition or results of operations.
We have undergone and continue to undergo significant change to our technology infrastructure and business processes. Failure to adequately update our systems and processes could harm our ability to run our business and adversely affect our results of operations.
We are currently making, and will continue to make, technology investments and process improvements to improve or replace the information processes and systems that are key to managing our business, to improve our compliance management system, and to reduce costs. Additionally, as part of the transition to Black Knight MSP and the integration of our information processes and systems with PHH, we have undergone and continue to undergo significant changes to our technology infrastructure and business processes. Failure to select the appropriate technology investments, or to implement them correctly and efficiently, could have a significant negative impact on our operations.
Cybersecurity breaches or system failures may interrupt or delay our ability to provide services to our customers, expose our business and our customers to harm and otherwise adversely affect our operations.
Disruptions and failures of our systems or those of our vendors may interrupt or delay our ability to provide services to our customers, expose us to remedial costs and reputational damage, and otherwise adversely affect our operations. The secure transmission of confidential information over the Internet and other electronic distribution and communication systems is essential to our maintaining consumer confidence in certain of our services. We have programs in place to detect and respond to security incidents. However, because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and may be difficult to detect for long periods of time, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventive measures. While none of the cybersecurity incidents that we have experienced to date have had a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or operations, a recent cybersecurity incident involving one of our vendors briefly impacted our operations, and we cannot assure that future incidents will not materially and adversely impact us.
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Security breaches, computer viruses, phishing attacks, worms, cyberattacks, ransomware, hacking and other acts of vandalism are increasing in frequency and sophistication, and could result in a compromise or breach of the technology that we or our vendors use to protect our borrowers’ personal information and transaction data and other information that we must keep secure. Our financial, accounting, data processing or other operating systems and facilities (or those of our vendors) may fail to operate properly or become disabled as a result of events that are wholly or partially beyond our control, such as a cyberattack, a spike in transaction volume or unforeseen catastrophic events, potentially resulting in data loss and adversely affecting our ability to process transactions or otherwise operate our business. If one or more of these events occurs, this could potentially jeopardize data integrity or confidentiality of information processed and stored in, or transmitted through, our computer systems and networks. Any failure, interruption or breach in our cyber security could result in reputational harm, disruption of our customer relationships, or an inability to originate and service loans and otherwise operate our business. Further, any of these cyber security and operational risks could expose us to lawsuits by customers for identity theft or other damages resulting from the misuse of their personal information and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
Regulators may impose penalties or require remedial action if they identify weaknesses in our systems, and we may be required to incur significant costs to address any identified deficiencies or to remediate any harm caused. A number of states have specific reporting and other requirements with respect to cybersecurity in addition to applicable federal laws. For instance, the NY DFS Cybersecurity Regulation requires New York insurance companies, banks, and other regulated financial services institutions - including certain Ocwen entities licensed in the state of New York - to assess their cybersecurity risk profile. Regulated entities are required, among other things, to adopt the core requirements of a cybersecurity program, including a cybersecurity policy, effective access privileges, cybersecurity risk assessments, training and monitoring for all authorized users, and appropriate governance processes. This regulation also requires regulated entities to submit notices to the NY DFS of any security breaches or other cybersecurity events, and to certify their compliance with the regulation on an annual basis. In addition, consumers generally are concerned with security breaches and privacy on the Internet, and Congress or individual states could enact new laws regulating the use of technology in our business that could adversely affect us or result in significant compliance costs.
As part of our business, we may share confidential customer information and proprietary information with customers, vendors, service providers, and business partners. The information systems of these third parties may be vulnerable to security breaches as these third parties may not have appropriate security controls in place to protect the information we share with them. If our confidential information is intercepted, stolen, misused, or mishandled while in possession of a third party, it could result in reputational harm to us, loss of customer business, and additional regulatory scrutiny, and it could expose us to civil litigation and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
Damage to our reputation could adversely impact our financial results and ongoing operations.
Our ability to serve and retain customers and conduct business transactions with our counterparties could be adversely affected to the extent our reputation is damaged. Our failure to address, or to appear to fail to address, the various regulatory, operational and other challenges facing Ocwen could give rise to reputational risk that could cause harm to us and our business prospects. Reputational issues may arise from the following, among other factors:
•negative news about Ocwen or the mortgage industry generally;
•allegations of non-compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;
•ethical issues, including alleged deceptive or unfair servicing or lending practices;
•our practices relating to collections, foreclosures, property preservation, modifications, interest rate adjustments, loans impacted by natural disasters, escrow and insurance;
•consumer privacy concerns;
•consumer financial fraud;
•data security issues related to our customers or employees;
•cybersecurity issues and cyber incidents, whether actual, threatened, or perceived;
•customer service or consumer complaints;
•legal, reputational, credit, liquidity and market risks inherent in our businesses;
•a downgrade of or negative watch warning on any of our servicer or credit ratings; and
•alleged or perceived conflicts of interest.
The proliferation of social media websites as well as the personal use of social media by our employees and others, including personal blogs and social network profiles, also may increase the risk that negative, inappropriate or unauthorized information may be posted or released publicly that could harm our reputation or have other negative consequences, including as a result of our employees interacting with our customers in an unauthorized manner in various social media outlets. The failure to address, or the perception that we have failed to address, any of these issues appropriately could give rise to increased regulatory action, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
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The industry in which we operate is highly competitive, and, to the extent we fail to meet these competitive challenges, it would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
We operate in a highly competitive industry that could become even more competitive as a result of economic, legislative, regulatory or technological changes. Competition to service mortgage loans and for mortgage loan originations comes primarily from commercial banks and savings institutions and non-bank lenders and mortgage servicers. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources, and lower funding costs. Further, our competitors that are national banks may also benefit from a federal exemption from certain state regulatory requirements that is applicable to depository institutions. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of revenue generating options (e.g., originating types of loans that we choose not to originate) and establish more favorable relationships than we can. With the proliferation of smartphones and technological changes enabling improved payment systems and cheaper data storage, newer market participants, often called “disruptors,” are reinventing aspects of the financial industry and capturing profit pools previously enjoyed by existing market participants. As a result, the lending industry could become even more competitive if new market participants are successful in capturing market share from existing market participants such as ourselves. Competition to service mortgage loans may result in lower margins. Because of the relatively limited number of servicing clients, our failure to meet the expectations of any significant client could materially impact our business. Ocwen has suffered reputational damage as a result of our regulatory settlements and the associated scrutiny of our business. We believe this may have weakened our competitive position against both our bank and non-bank mortgage servicing competitors. These competitive pressures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The unexpected departure of key executives or an inability to attract and retain qualified personnel could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are highly dependent on an experienced leadership team, including our Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, Glen A. Messina. We do not maintain key man life insurance relating to Mr. Messina or any other executive officer. The unexpected loss of the services of Mr. Messina or any of our other senior officers could have a material adverse effect on us.
More generally, our future success depends, in part, on our ability to identify, attract and retain highly skilled servicing, lending, finance, risk, compliance and technical personnel. We face intense competition for qualified individuals from numerous financial services and other companies, some of which have greater resources, better recent financial performance, fewer regulatory challenges and better reputations than we do.
If we are unable to attract and retain the personnel necessary to conduct our originations business, or other operations, or if the costs of doing so rise significantly, it could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
The human capital components of our ongoing cost-reduction efforts could disrupt operations, impair productivity and reduce morale, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations, business and financial performance.
As part of our ongoing initiatives to reduce operating costs, we have significantly reduced both our U.S.-based and offshore staffing levels compared to December 31, 2021. In addition, in 2022 we experienced elevated management turnover as a result of planned departures, including the departure of several executive officers. While we believe these planned departures are necessary in order to simplify our operations and drive stronger financial performance, internal reorganizations and personnel turnover add uncertainty to our operations in the short-term and divert management and employee attention from our other initiatives. In addition, the reduction in our workforce may negatively impact employee morale. It is possible that critical employees may seek other employment, and if we have misjudged the number or allocation of positions needed to run our operations efficiently, critical functions could be understaffed. Finally, our workforce reductions, management changes and internal reorganization could potentially invite increased regulatory inquiries. Any of the above risks, or a combination of these risks, could impair our ability to realize intended productivity increases and cost savings and result in a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
We have operations in India and the Philippines that could be adversely affected by changes in the political or economic stability of these countries or by government policies in India, the Philippines or the U.S.
Approximately 3,200, or 65%, of our employees as of December 31, 2022 are located in India. A significant change in India’s economic liberalization and deregulation policies could adversely affect business and economic conditions in India generally and our business in particular. The political or regulatory climate in the U.S. or elsewhere also could change so that it would not be lawful or practical for us to use international operations in the manner in which we currently use them. For example, changes in regulatory requirements could require us to curtail our use of lower-cost operations in India to service our businesses. If we had to curtail or cease our operations in India and transfer some or all of these operations to another geographic area, we could incur significant transition costs as well as higher future overhead costs that could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
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We may need to increase the levels of our employee compensation more rapidly than in the past to retain talent in India. Unless we can continue to enhance the efficiency and productivity of our employees, wage increases in the long-term may negatively impact our financial performance.
Political activity or other changes in political or economic stability in India could affect our ability to operate our business effectively. For example, political protests disrupted our Indian operations in multiple cities for a number of days during 2018. While we have implemented and maintain business continuity plans to reduce the disruption such events cause to our critical operations, we cannot guarantee that such plans will eliminate any negative impact on our business. Depending on the frequency and intensity of future occurrences of instability, our Indian operations could be significantly adversely affected.
Our operations in the Philippines are less substantial than our operations in India. However, they are still at risk of being affected by the same types of risks that affect our Indian operations. If they were to be so affected, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
There are a number of foreign laws and regulations that are applicable to our operations in India and the Philippines, including laws and regulations that govern licensing, employment, safety, taxes and insurance and laws and regulations that govern the creation, continuation and winding up of companies as well as the relationships between shareholders, our corporate entities, the public and the government in these countries. Non-compliance with the laws and regulations of India or the Philippines could result in (i) restrictions on our operations in these countries, (ii) fines, penalties or sanctions or (iii) reputational damage.
Our operations are vulnerable to disruptions resulting from severe weather events.
Our operations are vulnerable to disruptions resulting from severe weather events, including our operations in India, the Philippines, the USVI and Florida. Approximately 3,700, or 76%, of our employees as of December 31, 2022 are located in India or the Philippines. In recent years, severe weather events caused disruptions to our operations in India, the Philippines, and the USVI and we incurred expense resulting from the evacuation of personnel and from property damage. In addition, employees located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Texas have been impacted by severe weather events in recent years, including as a result of power failures due to such events which temporarily prevented some remote employees from working. While we have implemented and maintain business continuity plans to reduce the disruption such events cause to our critical operations, we cannot guarantee that such plans will eliminate any negative impact on our business, including the cost of evacuation and repairs. As the frequency of severe weather events continues to increase in connection with rising global temperatures and other climatic changes, interruptions to our business operations may become more frequent and costly, and future weather events could have a significant adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
If a rise in severe weather events increases the proportion of borrowers facing financial hardship, our servicing operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Certain regions of the U.S. have experienced an increase in the frequency and severity of significant weather events during the last decade, resulting in costly property repairs and rising homeowner’s insurance costs. To the extent borrowers living in impacted areas experience a financial hardship and become unable to meet their mortgage obligations or choose to abandon severely damaged property, our servicing operations will become more costly due to the increased expense of servicing delinquent mortgages and managing REO property. While we have programs in place to assist homeowners negatively impacted by weather events and other emergencies, we cannot guarantee that these programs would mitigate impacts to all borrowers. Consequently, if the frequency and severity of weather events continues to increase and the regions subject to extreme weather continue to expand, the results of our servicing operations and financial condition could be significantly impacted.
A significant portion of our business is in the states of California, Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey, and our business may be significantly harmed by a slowdown in the economy or the occurrence of a natural disaster in those states.
A significant portion of the mortgage loans that we service and originate are secured by properties in California, Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey. Any adverse economic conditions in these markets, including a downturn in real estate values, could increase loan delinquencies. Delinquent loans are more costly to service and require us to advance delinquent principal and interest and to make advances for delinquent taxes and insurance and foreclosure costs and the upkeep of vacant property in foreclosure to the extent that we determine that such amounts are recoverable. We could also be adversely affected by business disruptions triggered by natural disasters or acts or war or terrorism in these geographic areas.
Reinsuring risk through our captive reinsurance entity could adversely impact our results of operation and financial condition.
If our captive reinsurance entity incurs losses from a severe catastrophe or series of catastrophes, particularly in areas where a significant portion of the insured properties are located, claims that result could substantially exceed our expectations,
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which could adversely impact our results of operation and financial condition. An increase in the frequency with which severe weather events occur in the U.S. would increase the risk of adverse impacts on our captive reinsurance business.
Pursuit of business or asset acquisitions exposes us to financial, execution and operational risks that could adversely affect us.
We are actively looking for opportunities to grow our business through acquisitions of businesses and assets. The performance of the businesses and assets we acquire through acquisitions may not match the historical performance of our other assets. Nor can we assure you that the businesses and assets we may acquire will perform at levels meeting our expectations. We may find that we overpaid for the acquired businesses or assets or that the economic conditions underlying our acquisition decision have changed. It may also take several quarters or longer for us to fully integrate newly acquired business and assets into our business, during which period our results of operations and financial condition may be negatively affected. Further, certain one-time expenses associated with such acquisitions may have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition. We cannot assure you that acquisitions will not adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.
The risks associated with acquisitions include, among others:
•unanticipated issues in integrating servicing, information, communications and other systems;
•unanticipated incompatibility in servicing, lending, purchasing, logistics, marketing and administration methods;
•unanticipated liabilities assumed from the acquired business;
•not retaining key employees; and
•the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business concerns.
The acquisition integration process can be complicated and time consuming and could potentially be disruptive to borrowers of loans serviced by the acquired business. If the integration process is not conducted successfully and with minimal effect on the acquired business and its borrowers, we may not realize the anticipated economic benefits of particular acquisitions within our expected timeframe, or we could lose subservicing business or employees of the acquired business. In addition, integrating operations may involve significant reductions in headcount or the closure of facilities, which may be disruptive to operations and impair employee morale. Through acquisitions, we may enter into business lines in which we have not previously operated. Such acquisitions could require additional integration costs and efforts, including significant time from senior management. We may not be able to achieve the synergies we anticipate from acquired businesses, and we may not be able to grow acquired businesses in the manner we anticipate. In fact, the businesses we acquire could decrease in size, even if the integration process is successful.
Further, prices at which acquisitions can be made fluctuate with market conditions. We have experienced times during which acquisitions could not be made in specific markets at prices that we considered to be acceptable, and we expect that we will experience this condition in the future. In addition, to finance an acquisition, we may borrow funds, thereby increasing our leverage and diminishing our liquidity, or we could raise additional equity capital, which could dilute the interests of our existing shareholders.
The timing of closing of our acquisitions is often uncertain. We have in the past and may in the future experience delays in closing our acquisitions, or certain aspects of them. For example, we and the applicable seller are often required to obtain certain regulatory and contractual consents as a prerequisite to closing, such as the consents of GSEs, the FHFA, RMBS trustees or regulators. Accordingly, even if we and the applicable seller are efficient and proactive, the actions of third parties can impact the timing under which such consents are obtained. We and the applicable seller may not be able to obtain all the required consents, which may mean that we are unable to acquire all the assets that we wish to acquire. Regulators may have questions relating to aspects of our acquisitions and we may be required to devote time and resources responding to those questions. It is also possible that we will expend considerable resources in the pursuit of an acquisition that, ultimately, either does not close or is terminated.
Loan put-backs and related liabilities for breaches of representations and warranties regarding sold loans could adversely affect our business.
We have exposure to representation, warranty and indemnification obligations relating to our Originations business, including lending, loan sales and securitization activities, and in certain instances, we have assumed these obligations on loans we service. Our contracts with purchasers of originated loans generally contain provisions that require indemnification or repurchase of the related loans under certain circumstances. While the language in the purchase contracts varies, such contracts generally contain provisions that require us to indemnify purchasers of loans or repurchase such loans if:
•representations and warranties concerning loan quality, contents of the loan file or loan underwriting circumstances are inaccurate;
•adequate mortgage insurance is not secured within a certain period after closing;
•a mortgage insurance provider denies coverage; or
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•there is a failure to comply, at the individual loan level or otherwise, with regulatory requirements.
We believe that many purchasers of residential mortgage loans are particularly aware of the conditions under which originators must indemnify or repurchase loans and under which such purchasers would benefit from enforcing any indemnification rights and repurchase remedies they may have.
At December 31, 2022, we had outstanding representation and warranty repurchase demands related to 354 loans of $66.7 million total UPB.
If home values decrease, our realized loan losses from loan repurchases and indemnifications may increase as well. As a result, our liability for repurchases may increase beyond our current expectations. Depending on the magnitude of any such increase, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We originate and securitize FHA-insured HECM reverse mortgages, which subjects us to risks that could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
We originate, securitize and service FHA-insured HECM mortgages. The reverse mortgage business is subject to substantial risks, including market, credit, interest rate, liquidity, operational, reputational and legal risks. Generally, a HECM reverse mortgage is a government-insured loan available to seniors aged 62 or older that allows homeowners to borrow money against the value of their home. No repayment of the mortgage is required until a default event under the terms of the mortgage occurs, the borrower dies, the borrower moves out of the home or the home is sold. A decline in the demand for HECM reverse mortgages may reduce the number of HECM reverse mortgages we originate and adversely affect our ability to sell HECM reverse mortgages in the secondary market. Although foreclosures involving HECM reverse mortgages generally occur less frequently than forward mortgages, loan defaults on HECM reverse mortgages leading to foreclosures may occur if borrowers fail to occupy the home as their primary residence, maintain their property or fail to pay taxes or home insurance premiums. A general increase in foreclosure rates may adversely impact how HECM reverse mortgages are perceived by potential customers and thus reduce demand for HECM reverse mortgages. Additionally, we could become subject to negative headline risk in the event that loan defaults on HECM reverse mortgages lead to foreclosures or evictions of the elderly. The HUD HECM reverse mortgage program has in the past responded to scrutiny around similar issues by implementing rule changes, and may do so in the future. It is not possible to predict whether any such rule changes would negatively impact us. All of the above factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our HMBS repurchase obligations may reduce our liquidity, and if we are unable to comply with such obligations, it could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
As an HMBS issuer, we assume the obligation to purchase loans out of the Ginnie Mae securitization pools once the outstanding principal balance of the related HECM is equal to or greater than 98% of the maximum claim amount (MCA repurchases). Active repurchased loans are assigned to HUD and payment is typically received within 75 days of repurchase. HUD reimburses us for the outstanding principal balance on the loan up to the maximum claim amount. We bear the risk of exposure if the amount of the outstanding principal balance on a loan exceeds the maximum claim amount. Inactive repurchased loans (the borrower is deceased, no longer occupies the property or is delinquent on tax and insurance payments) are generally liquidated through foreclosure and subsequent sale of REO, with a claim filed with HUD for recoverable remaining principal and advance balances. The recovery timeline for inactive repurchased loans depends on various factors, including foreclosure status at the time of repurchase, state-level foreclosure timelines, and the post-foreclosure REO liquidation timeline. The timing and amount of our obligations with respect to MCA repurchases are uncertain as repurchase is dependent largely on circumstances outside of our control. MCA repurchases are expected to continue to increase due to the seasoning of our portfolio, and the increased flow of HECMs and REO that are reaching 98% of their maximum claim amount.
If we do not have sufficient liquidity or borrowing capacity to comply with our Ginnie Mae repurchase obligations, Ginnie Mae could take adverse action against us, including terminating us as an approved HMBS issuer. In addition, if we are required to purchase a significant number of loans with respect to which the outstanding principal balances exceed HUD’s maximum claim amount, we could be required to absorb significant losses on such loans following assignment to HUD or, in the case of inactive loans, liquidation and subsequent claim for HUD reimbursement. Further, during the periods in which HUD reimbursement is pending, our available borrowing or liquidity will be reduced by the repurchase amounts and we will have reduced resources with which to further other business objectives. For all of the foregoing reasons, our liquidity, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted by our HMBS repurchase obligations.
Liabilities relating to our past sales of Agency MSRs could adversely affect our business.
We have made representations, warranties and covenants relating to our past sales of Agency MSRs, including sales made by PHH before we acquired it. To the extent that we (including PHH prior to its acquisition by us) made inaccurate representations or warranties or if we fail otherwise to comply with our sale agreements, we could incur liability to the purchasers of these MSRs pursuant to the contractual provisions of these agreements.
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We may incur litigation costs and related losses if the validity of a foreclosure action is challenged by a borrower or if a court overturns a foreclosure.
We may incur costs if we are required to, or if we elect to, execute or re-file documents or take other action in our capacity as a servicer in connection with pending or completed foreclosures. We may incur litigation costs if the validity of a foreclosure action is challenged by a borrower. If a court were to overturn a foreclosure because of errors or deficiencies in the foreclosure process, we may have liability to a title insurer of the property sold in foreclosure. These costs and liabilities may not be legally or otherwise reimbursable to us, particularly to the extent they relate to securitized mortgage loans. In addition, if certain documents required for a foreclosure action are missing or defective, we could be obligated to cure the defect or repurchase the loan. A significant increase in litigation costs could adversely affect our liquidity, and our inability to be reimbursed for servicing advances could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
A failure to maintain minimum servicer ratings could have an adverse effect on our business, financing activities, financial condition or results of operations.
S&P, Moody’s, Fitch and others rate us as a mortgage servicer. Failure to maintain minimum servicer ratings could adversely affect our ability to sell or fund servicing advances going forward, could affect the terms and availability of debt financing facilities that we may seek in the future, and could impair our ability to consummate future servicing transactions or adversely affect our dealings with lenders, other contractual counterparties and regulators, including our ability to maintain our status as an approved servicer by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The servicer rating requirements of Fannie Mae do not necessarily require or imply immediate action, as Fannie Mae has discretion with respect to whether we are in compliance with their requirements and what actions it deems appropriate under the circumstances in the event that we fall below their desired servicer ratings.
Certain of our servicing agreements require that we maintain specified servicer ratings. As a result of our current servicer ratings, termination rights have been triggered in some non-Agency servicing agreements. While the holders of these termination rights have not exercised them to date, they have not waived the right to do so, and we could, in the future, be subject to terminations either as a result of servicer ratings downgrades or future adverse actions by ratings agencies, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financing activities, financial condition and results of operations. Downgrades in our servicer ratings could also affect the terms and availability of advance financing or other debt facilities that we may seek in the future. Our failure to maintain minimum or specified ratings could adversely affect our dealings with contractual counterparties, including GSEs, Ginnie Mae and regulators, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financing activities, financial condition and results of operations. To date, terminations as servicer as a result of a breach of any of these provisions have been minimal.
The replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate or alternative replacement floating rate indexes, may adversely affect interest rates, our business, and financial markets as a whole.
On July 27, 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K. announced that it would phase out LIBOR as a benchmark by the end of 2021. However, for U.S. dollar LIBOR, the date has been deferred to June 30, 2023 for certain tenors (including overnight and one, three, six and 12 months), at which time the LIBOR administrator has indicated that it intends to cease publication of U.S. dollar LIBOR. Despite this deferral, the LIBOR administrator has advised that no new contracts using U.S. dollar LIBOR should be entered into after December 31, 2021 and that beginning January 1, 2022, renewals of existing contracts should provide for the replacement of U.S. dollar LIBOR with an alternative reference rate. This change will affect some adjustable (or variable) rate loans and lines of credit, including but not limited to adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), reverse mortgages, and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve has convened a group called the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) to help facilitate the transition away from the use of LIBOR as an index. The ARRC has designated the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as the recommended alternative rate for U.S. dollar-based LIBOR. In addition, on March 15, 2022, Federal legislation was signed into law that includes the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (the LIBOR Act). On December 16, 2022, the Federal Reserve Board adopted a final rule implementing the LIBOR Act. This final rule identified benchmark rates based on SOFR that will replace LIBOR after June 30, 2023 in certain financial contracts that lack adequate “fallback” provisions to replace LIBOR with a practicable replacement benchmark rate. The LIBOR Act also contains a safe harbor protecting any person selecting and/or implementing a benchmark replacement, adjustments and conforming changes recommended by the Federal Reserve Board. In October 2022, the HUD announced a proposed rule (that has not yet been finalized) that would substitute the SOFR for LIBOR as an acceptable index for FHA-insured adjustable-rate mortgages, including HECMs. In December 2022, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that SOFR will serve as the index for their LIBOR-based adjustable rate loans, to occur the day after June 30, 2023.
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Despite these recommendations of SOFR as a replacement, some market participants may continue to explore whether other U.S. dollar reference rates would be more appropriate for certain instruments. Our servicing portfolio includes forward, reverse and commercial ARMs that reference LIBOR, for which PMC will be following GSE and investor guidance concerning the replacement index and providing notices to borrowers. There still remains uncertainty relating to how widely any given alternative will be adopted by parties in the financial markets, and the extent to which alternative benchmarks may be subject to volatility or present risks and challenges that LIBOR does not. It is possible that we will disagree with our contractual counterparties over which alternative benchmark to adopt, which could make renewing or replacing our debt facilities and other agreements more complex. In addition, to the extent the adoption of a benchmark alternative impacts the interest rates payable by borrowers, it could lead to borrower complaints and litigation. Consequently, it remains difficult to predict the effects the phase-out of LIBOR and the use of alternative benchmarks may have on our business or on the overall financial markets. If LIBOR alternatives re-allocate risk among parties in a way that is disadvantageous to market participants such as Ocwen, if there is disagreement among market participants, including borrowers, over which alternative benchmark to adopt, or if uncertainty relating to the LIBOR phase-out disrupts financial markets, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, and liquidity.
Tax Risks
Changes in tax laws and interpretation and tax challenges may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
The enactment of Federal Tax Reform has had, and is expected to continue to have, far reaching and significant effects. Further, U.S. tax authorities may at any time clarify and/or modify by legislation, administration or judicial changes or interpretation the income tax treatment of corporations. Such changes could adversely affect us.
In the course of our business, we are sometimes subject to challenges from taxing authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), individual states, municipalities, and foreign jurisdictions, regarding amounts due. These challenges may result in adjustments to the timing or amount of taxable income or deductions, the allocation of income among tax jurisdictions, or the rate of tax imposed in such jurisdiction, all of which may require a greater provision for taxes or otherwise adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to retain the tax benefits provided by the USVI would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
During 2019, in connection with our acquisition of PHH, overall corporate simplification and cost-reduction efforts, we executed a legal entity reorganization whereby OLS, through which we previously conducted a substantial portion of our servicing business, was merged into PMC. OLS was previously the wholly-owned subsidiary of OMS, which was incorporated and headquartered in the USVI prior to its merger with Ocwen USVI Services, LLC, an entity which is also organized and headquartered in the USVI. The USVI has an Economic Development Commission (EDC) that provides certain tax benefits to qualified businesses. OMS received its certificate to operate as a company qualified for EDC benefits in October 2012 and as a result received significant tax benefits. Following our legal entity reorganization, we are no longer able to avail ourselves of favorable tax treatment for our USVI operations on a going forward basis. However, if the EDC were to determine that we failed to conduct our USVI operations in compliance with EDC qualifications prior to our reorganization, the value of the EDC benefits corresponding to the period prior to the reorganization could be reduced or eliminated, resulting in an increase to our tax expense. In addition, under our agreement with the EDC, we remain obligated to continue to operate Ocwen USVI Services, LLC in compliance with EDC requirements through 2042. If we fail to maintain our EDC qualification, we could be alleged to be in violation of our EDC commitments and the EDC could take adverse action against us, which could include demands for payment and reimbursement of past tax benefits, and it could result in the loss of anticipated income tax refunds. If any of these events were to occur, it could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We may be subject to increased U.S. federal income taxation.
OMS was incorporated under the laws of the USVI and operated in a manner that caused a substantial amount of its net income to be treated as not related to a trade or business within the U.S., which caused such income to be exempt from U.S. federal income taxation. However, because there are no definitive standards provided by the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), regulations or court decisions as to the specific activities that constitute being engaged in the conduct of a trade or business within the U.S., and as any such determination is essentially factual in nature, we cannot assure you that the IRS will not successfully assert that OMS was engaged in a trade or business within the U.S. with respect to that income.
If the IRS were to successfully assert that OMS had been engaged in a trade or business within the U.S. with respect to that income in any taxable year, it may become subject to U.S. federal income taxation on such income. Our tax returns and positions are subject to review and audit by federal and state taxing authorities. An unfavorable outcome to a tax audit could result in higher tax expense.
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Any “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code could substantially limit our ability to utilize our net operating losses carryforwards and other deferred tax assets.
As of December 31, 2022, Ocwen had U.S. federal and USVI net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards of approximately $510.4 million, which we estimate to be worth approximately $107.2 million to Ocwen under our present assumptions related to Ocwen’s various relevant jurisdictional tax rates as a result of recently passed tax legislation (which assumptions reflect a significant degree of uncertainty). As of December 31, 2022, Ocwen had state NOL and state tax credit carryforwards which we estimate to be worth approximately $90.3 million, and foreign tax credit carryforwards of $0.1 million in the U.S. jurisdiction. As of December 31, 2022, Ocwen had disallowed interest under Section 163(j) of $296.2 million in the U.S. jurisdiction. NOL carryforwards, Section 163(j) disallowed interest carryforwards and certain built-in losses or deductions may be subject to annual limitations under Internal Revenue Code Section 382 (Section 382) (or comparable provisions of foreign or state law) in the event that certain changes in ownership were to occur as measured under Section 382. In addition, tax credit carryforwards may be subject to annual limitations under Internal Revenue Code Section 383 (Section 383). We periodically evaluate whether certain changes in ownership have occurred as measured under Section 382 that would limit our ability to utilize our NOLs, tax credit carryforwards, deductions and/or certain built-in losses. If it is determined that an ownership change(s) has occurred, there may be annual limitations under Sections 382 and 383 (or comparable provisions of foreign or state law).
Ocwen and PHH have both experienced historical ownership changes that have caused the use of certain tax attributes to be limited and have resulted in the write-off of certain of these attributes based on our inability to use them in the carryforward periods defined under tax law. Ocwen continues to monitor the ownership in its stock to evaluate whether any additional ownership changes have occurred that would further limit our ability to utilize certain tax attributes. As such, our analysis regarding the amount of tax attributes that may be available to offset taxable income in the future without restrictions imposed by Section 382 may continue to evolve. Our inability to utilize our pre-ownership change NOL carryforwards, Section 163(j) disallowed interest carryforwards, any future recognized built-in losses or deductions, and tax credit carryforwards could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Finally, any future changes in our ownership or sale of our stock could further limit the use of our NOLs and tax credits in the future.
Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Common Stock
Our common stock price experiences substantial volatility and has dropped significantly on a number of occasions in recent periods, which may affect your ability to sell our common stock at an advantageous price.
The market price of our shares of common stock has been, and may continue to be, volatile. For example, the closing market price of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange fluctuated during 2022 between $17.99 per share and $41.30 per share, and the closing stock price on February 24, 2023 was $36.13 per share. Therefore, the volatility in our stock price may affect your ability to sell our common stock at an advantageous price. Market price fluctuations in our common stock may be due to factors both within and outside our control, including regulatory or legal actions, acquisitions, dispositions or other material public announcements or speculative trading in our stock (e.g., traders “shorting” our common stock), as well as a variety of other factors including, but not limited to those set forth under this Item 1.A. Risk Factors .
In addition, the stock markets in general, including the New York Stock Exchange, have, at times, experienced extreme price and trading fluctuations. These fluctuations have resulted in volatility in the market prices of securities that often has been unrelated or disproportionate to changes in operating performance. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market prices of our common stock.
When the market price of a company's shares drops significantly, shareholders often institute securities class action lawsuits against the company. A lawsuit against us, even if unsuccessful, could cause us to incur substantial costs and could divert the time and attention of our management and other resources.
We have several large shareholders, and such shareholders may vote their shares to influence matters requiring shareholder approval.
Based on SEC filings, we understand several shareholders each own or control over five percent of our common stock. These large shareholders individually and collectively have the ability to vote a meaningful percentage of our outstanding common stock on all matters put to a vote of our shareholders. As a result, these shareholders could influence matters requiring shareholder approval, including the amendment of our articles of incorporation, the approval of mergers or similar transactions and the election of directors. If situations arise in which management and certain large shareholders have divergent views, we may be unable to take actions management believes to be in the best interests of Ocwen.
Further, certain of our large shareholders also hold significant percentages of stock in companies with which we do business. It is possible these interlocking ownership positions could cause these shareholders to take actions based on factors other than solely what is in the best interests of Ocwen.
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Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of additional securities that may cause dilution and may depress the price of our securities.
Our articles of incorporation permit our board of directors, without our stockholders’ approval, to:
•authorize the issuance of additional common stock or preferred stock in connection with future equity offerings or acquisitions of securities or other assets of companies; and
•classify or reclassify any unissued common stock or preferred stock and to set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares, including the issuance of shares of preferred stock that have preference rights over the common stock and existing preferred stock with respect to dividends, liquidation, voting and other matters or shares of common stock that have preference rights over common stock with respect to voting.
While any such issuance would be subject to compliance with the terms of our debt and other agreements, our issuance of additional securities could be substantially dilutive to our existing stockholders and may depress the price of our common stock.
Future offerings of debt securities, which would be senior to our common stock in liquidation, or equity securities, which would dilute our existing stockholders’ interests and may be senior to our common stock in liquidation or for the purposes of distributions, may harm the market price of our securities.
We will continue to seek to access the capital markets from time to time and, subject to compliance with our other contractual agreements, may make additional offerings of term loans, debt or equity securities, including senior or subordinated notes, preferred stock or common stock. We are not precluded by the terms of our articles of incorporation from issuing additional indebtedness. Accordingly, we could become more highly leveraged, resulting in an increase in debt service obligations and an increased risk of default on our obligations. If we were to liquidate, holders of our debt and lenders with respect to other borrowings would receive a distribution of our available assets before the holders of our common stock. Additional equity offerings by us may dilute our existing stockholders’ interest in us or reduce the market price of our existing securities. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Further, conditions could require that we accept less favorable terms for the issuance of our securities in the future. Thus, our existing stockholders will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our securities and diluting their ownership interest in us.
Because of certain provisions in our organizational documents and regulatory restrictions, takeovers may be more difficult, possibly preventing you from obtaining an optimal share price. In addition, significant investments in our common stock may be restricted, which could impact demand for, and the trading price of, our common stock.
Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that the total number of shares of all classes of capital stock that we have authority to issue is 33.3 million, of which 13.3 million are common shares and 20.0 million are preferred shares. Our board of directors has the authority, without a vote of the shareholders, to establish the preferences and rights of any preferred or other class or series of shares to be issued and to issue such shares. The issuance of preferred shares could delay or prevent a change in control. Since our board of directors has the power to establish the preferences and rights of the preferred shares without a shareholder vote, our board of directors may give the holders of preferred shares preferences, powers and rights, including voting rights, senior to the rights of holders of our common shares. In addition, our bylaws include provisions that, among other things, require advance notice for raising business or making nominations at meetings, which could impact the ability of a third party to acquire control of us or the timing of acquiring such control.
Third parties seeking to acquire us or make significant investments in us must do so in compliance with state regulatory requirements applicable to licensed mortgage servicers and lenders. Many states require change of control applications for acquisitions of “control” as defined under each state’s laws and regulation, which may apply to an investment without regard to the intent of the investor. For example, New York has a control presumption triggered at 10% ownership of the voting stock of the licensee or of any person that controls the licensee. In addition, we have licensed insurance subsidiaries in New York and Vermont. Accordingly, there can be no effective change in control of Ocwen unless the person seeking to acquire control has made the relevant filings and received the requisite approvals in New York and Vermont. These regulatory requirements may discourage potential acquisition proposals or investments, may delay or prevent a change in control of us and may impact demand for, and the trading price of, our common stock.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Ocwen Financial Corporation is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, at 1661 Worthington Road, Suite 100. We have offices and facilities in the U.S., the USVI, India and the Philippines, all of which are leased. The following table sets forth information relating to our principal facilities at December 31, 2022:
| Location | Owned/Leased | Square Footage | ||||||||||||
| Principal executive offices | ||||||||||||||
| West Palm Beach, Florida (1) | Leased | 41,858 | ||||||||||||
| Document storage and imaging facility | ||||||||||||||
| West Palm Beach, Florida (2) | Leased | 51,931 | ||||||||||||
| Business operations and support offices | ||||||||||||||
| U.S. facilities: | ||||||||||||||
| Houston, Texas - Walters Road (3) | Leased | 45,579 | ||||||||||||
| Rancho Cordova, California (4) | Leased | 17,157 | ||||||||||||
| Mt. Laurel, New Jersey (5) | Leased | 18,270 | ||||||||||||
| St. Croix, USVI | Leased | 6,096 | ||||||||||||
| Offshore facilities | ||||||||||||||
| Bangalore, India (6) | Leased | 68,050 | ||||||||||||
| Mumbai, India | Leased | 25,665 | ||||||||||||
| Pune, India | Leased | 3,826 | ||||||||||||
| Manila, Philippines (7) | Leased | 13,134 | ||||||||||||
| Former operations and support offices no longer utilized | ||||||||||||||
| Addison, Texas (8) | Leased | 39,646 | ||||||||||||
| Houston, Texas - Richmond Avenue (9) | Leased | 9,653 | ||||||||||||
(1)We reduced the leased space by 9,688 square feet in March 2022 and extended the lease term through July 2028.
(2)On February 1, 2022, we extended the lease through February 2028.
(3)Primarily supports reverse servicing operations. This lease was assumed in connection with the MAM (RMS) transaction completed in October 2021 and expired in February 2022. On February 1, 2022, we entered into new agreements to lease 45,579 square feet for a term of five years.
(4)Primarily supports reverse lending operations. We downsized the existing facility to 17,157 square feet in 2021 and extended the lease through August 2024.
(5)The original Mt. Laurel facility included two buildings, one with 376,122 square feet of space, of which we ceased using 243,927 square feet as of the end of 2020. The space in the second building was 107,774 square feet, all of which was subleased. Following the expiration of the original lease and exit of the Mt. Laurel facility in December 2022, we leased a smaller facility at a different location in Mt. Laurel with 18,270 square feet space that supports our servicing and lending operations, as well as our corporate functions.
(6)We terminated the lease on 41,508 square feet of space in June 2022, and an additional 45,725 square feet effective January 2023. During October 2022, we relocated to a managed service office with 22,325 square feet and a lease term expiring in October 2027.
(7)During December 2022, we partially terminated the lease for 26,195 square feet. The lease for the remaining 13,134 square feet was extended through October 2027, with a committed lock-in period until October 2024.
(8)This lease expires in 2025 and is currently being marketed for sublease.
(9)The lease of this facility, which expires in July 2023, was abandoned during 2022.
We regularly evaluate current and projected space requirements, considering the constraints of our existing lease agreements and the expected scale of our businesses. We operate through a hybrid workforce model which combines in-office and remote work for substantially all of our global workforce. During 2022, we exited a total of 561,287 of leased square footage.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
See Note 25 — Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of our material legal proceedings. That information is incorporated into this item by reference.
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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
The common stock of Ocwen Financial Corporation is traded under the symbol “OCN” on the NYSE.
Dividends
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future but intend to reinvest earnings in our business. The timing and amount of any future dividends will be determined by our Board of Directors and will depend, among other factors, upon our earnings, financial condition, cash requirements, the capital requirements of subsidiaries and investment opportunities at the time any such payment is considered. Our Board of Directors has no obligation to declare dividends on our common stock under Florida law or our amended and restated articles of incorporation.
Stock Return Performance
The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return (TSR) on the common stock of Ocwen Financial Corporation since December 31, 2017, with the cumulative TSR on the stocks included in (i) the Russell 2000 Index and (ii) a group of peer companies Ocwen has selected for the purposes of measuring TSR-based comparative performance metrics which form the basis of Ocwen’s performance-based equity compensation awards. In prior years, Ocwen presented comparisons to Standard & Poor’s 500 Market Index and Standard & Poor’s Diversified Financials Market Index in lieu of the Russell 2000 Index and Ocwen peer group, respectively, and the TSR of those indices is also presented below for comparison purposes. We have chosen to present the Russell 2000 and our peer group for comparison purposes because we believe the Russell 2000 is comprised of companies which more closely resemble Ocwen in terms of market capitalization. In addition, since the TSR of the peer group presented below is information Ocwen’s management uses to benchmark its own performance for the purposes of granting equity awards, it provides relevant information to our shareholders.
The Compensation and Human Capital Committee of Ocwen’s Board of Directors selected the following peer group as the comparator for benchmarking, including competitors in the mortgage finance industry and mortgage real estate investment trusts.
| Associated Banc-Corp | Mr. Cooper Group Inc. | ||||
| BankUnited, Inc. | Navient Corporation | ||||
| Finance of America Companies, Inc. | PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. | ||||
| Guild Holdings Company | Radian Group Inc. | ||||
| Home Point Capital Inc. | South State Corporation | ||||
| loanDepot, Inc. | UWM Holdings Corporation | ||||
| LendingTree, Inc. | Walker & Dunlop, Inc. | ||||
| MGIC Investment Corporation | Webster Financial Corporation | ||||
The cumulative TSR performance of current peer group companies Finance of America Companies, Inc., Guild Holdings Company, Home Point Capital Inc., loanDepot Inc. and UWM Holdings is not included in the weighted average cumulative TSR calculation because they were publicly listed after the beginning of the five-year measurement period.
The graph assumes that $100 was invested in our common stock, each index listed below, and each company in the peer group (except as described above) on December 31, 2017, and the reinvestment of all dividends. The returns of each peer group company are weighted according to their respective stock market capitalization at the beginning of the period.
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| Period Ending | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Index / Peer Group | 12/31/2017 | 12/31/2018 | 12/31/2019 | 12/31/2020 | 12/31/2021 | 12/31/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ocwen Financial Corporation | $ | 100.00 | $ | 42.81 | $ | 43.77 | $ | 61.58 | $ | 85.13 | $ | 65.13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S&P 500 | $ | 100.00 | $ | 93.76 | $ | 120.84 | $ | 140.49 | $ | 178.27 | $ | 143.61 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S&P 500 Diversified Financials | $ | 100.00 | $ | 88.98 | $ | 109.30 | $ | 119.99 | $ | 161.12 | $ | 140.86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Russell 2000 | $ | 100.00 | $ | 87.82 | $ | 108.66 | $ | 128.61 | $ | 146.23 | $ | 114.70 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peer Group | $ | 100.00 | $ | 78.50 | $ | 106.03 | $ | 103.54 | $ | 129.89 | $ | 107.94 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This performance graph shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or incorporated by reference into any filing by us under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Number of Holders of Common Stock
On February 24, 2023, 7,527,443 shares of our common stock were outstanding and held by approximately 64 holders of record. Such number of stockholders does not reflect the number of individuals or institutional investors holding our stock in nominee name through banks, brokerage firms and others.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
All unregistered sales of equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2022 have been previously reported.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliates
On May 20, 2022, Ocwen’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for an aggregate amount of up to $50.0 million of Ocwen’s issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Prior to the expiration of the program on November 20, 2022, Ocwen completed the repurchase of 1,750,557 shares of our common stock in the open market under this program at prevailing market prices for a total purchase price of $50.0 million (including commissions). The repurchased shares were retired in tranches throughout the term of the program.
Information regarding repurchases of our common stock during the fourth quarter of 2022 is as follows:
| Period | Total number of shares purchased | Average price paid per share (1) | Total number of shares purchased as part of a publicly announced repurchase program | Approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the repurchase program | |||||||||||||||||||
| October 1 - October 31 | 344,246 | ||||||||||||||||||||||