They are AT It Again: Ocwen Securitizing Gov.-Backed Mortgages

Just in case you were wondering if anything is changing in the world of finance, the answer is no, not really. Ocwen here is announcing that they are securitizing mortgages backed by the government, and selling the pieces to investors, who really ought to know better by now.

They are doubling down on a failed strategy in the hope that it will bring the housing market out of its slump. Maybe it will work for a time, but the net result is that the fundamental dysfunction of the financial markets are being ignored. Trust is the basic component of everything that happens in the financial markets and trust is what was broken completely in the mortgage crisis.

They lied, cheated, stole and then fabricated documents out of thin air, forged with the signatures of unsophisticated office workers who were told that if they want a paycheck they need to do what they were told. That gave birth to what was eventually called robo-signing and surrogate signing, forging of signatures and invalid documentation unsupported by either authority or consideration. It looks to me that no lessons were learned on Wall Street except that if you make the crime big enough, nothing will happen to you.

This is why in the Full day seminar on August 25 in Emeryville (San Francisco) we delve into the components of discovery and pleading so that homeowners stop making or allowing records on appeal to contain matters that are in dispute appear as though they are not in dispute.

One interesting question that should be asked is that if the risk of loss is covered by BOTH securitization (diversification) and government backing, what benefits are the consumers getting in rates?

This article from Housing Wire by Jon Prior, is one of many to come as the policy of “doing what works” continues to dominate over “doing what is right.” With these policies in effect the vast majority of homeowners are being left out in the cold and the few who litigate successfully will get reasonable settlements or modifications. The bottom line is that housing as a keystone component of our economy will continue to drag the economy even as we try to spike activity in other sectors.

Ocwen to securitize FHA mortgages

A special vehicle put together by subprime mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. ($24.38 0.29%) plans to acquire government-backed loans soon and package them into bonds for investors.

Ocwen and its former asset management firm Altisource built Correspondent One last year. The vehicle will buy mortgages originated by Lenders One, which Ocwen estimates wrote 8% of all home loans in the U.S. last year. Lenders One is a national alliance of mortgage bankers, correspondent lenders and suppliers of mortgage products and services.

Correspondent One will also acquire Federal Housing Administration mortgages soon for future securitizations, Ocwen disclosed to investors in its second quarter filing. Currently, roughly 98% of FHA loans are securitized through Ginnie Mae bonds.

The company said Correspondent One acquired roughly $17 million in conventional loans from Lenders One in the first half of 2012.

“Correspondent One has seen significant, positive environmental changes in the correspondent lending market. There has been a contraction in correspondent lending,” Ocwen said, alluding to recent exits by Bank of America ($7.91 0.035%), Ally Financial and others.

In July, Ocwen also began setting up agreements to purchase servicing on newly originated loans. Under the arrangements with undisclosed firms, lenders would sell the loan to either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or issue a Ginnie Mae security backed by FHA loans. The servicing on those loans would automatically transfer to Ocwen.

The company serviced nearly $128 billion in mortgages as of June 30, nearly double the $70 billion portfolio it held one year prior.

The funding pipeline for Correspondent One and these special arrangements reached nearly $195 million at the end of July, Ocwen said.

Ginnie may raise its minimum net-worth requirement for issuers of its FHA-backed mortgage bonds, American Banker reported this week. Smaller lenders are becoming shut out and could turn to more creative and private deals like the one Ocwen has set up in order to fund their new loans.

jprior@housingwire.com

@JonAPrior

Tags: government backed, housing market, Ocwen, securitization of mortgages, Wall Street
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