Ocwen Financial Comments on Court Order Granting Ocwen’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Majority of Claims in CFPB Matter
Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE: OCN) announced a favorable ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida regarding its litigation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The Court granted judgment in Ocwen's favor on 9 of 10 counts related to alleged misconduct prior to February 26, 2017. While one count remains pending, the Court denied the Bureau’s summary judgment request on that claim. Ocwen expressed confidence in its defense against the remaining allegations.
- Court ruled in favor of Ocwen on 9 out of 10 counts, affirming the company's position on past servicing practices.
- Denial of CFPB's motion for summary judgment on the remaining count suggests potential strengths in Ocwen's defense.
- One count of alleged servicing misconduct remains pending, introducing continued uncertainty.
- CFPB may pursue claims related to servicing misconduct after February 26, 2017, which could impact future operations.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE: OCN) (“Ocwen” or the “Company”), a leading non-bank mortgage servicer and originator, issued the following statement in response to the ruling issued on March 4, 2021 by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on the Company’s motion for summary judgment in the action pending with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”). The Court granted judgment in Ocwen’s favor on 9 of the Bureau’s 10 counts regarding alleged servicing misconduct that occurred before February 26, 2017. If the CFPB seeks to pursue any claims under Counts 1-9 based on alleged servicing misconduct which occurred after February 26, 2017, the Court reserved ruling on Ocwen’s remaining grounds for summary judgment pending the CFPB’s submission of a supplemental statement identifying such claims and its evidence, if any. As to Count 10, the Court denied the Bureau’s motion for summary judgment because Ocwen credibly disputed the Bureau’s claims of misconduct as to the small subset of loans at issue for that count.
“We are pleased that the district court has granted summary judgment in our favor on 9 of 10 counts at issue in the CFPB’s complaint. Throughout this litigation we have remained steadfast in our belief that the CFPB’s claims regarding Ocwen’s past servicing practices were without merit. Ocwen will continue to vigorously defend itself on the single remaining count and on any claims the Court allows to proceed concerning periods after February 26, 2017.”
About Ocwen Financial Corporation
Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE: OCN) is a leading non-bank mortgage servicer and originator providing solutions through its primary brands, PHH Mortgage and Liberty Reverse Mortgage. PHH Mortgage is one of the largest servicers in the country, focused on delivering a variety of servicing and lending programs. Liberty is one of the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lenders dedicated to education and providing loans that help customers meet their personal and financial needs. We are headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, with offices in the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands and operations in India and the Philippines, and have been serving our customers since 1988. For additional information, please visit our website (www.ocwen.com).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release 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. These 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 such 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. 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 materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, further developments in the CFPB litigation, our ability to deploy the proceeds of the Second Lien Notes in suitable investments at appropriate returns; uncertainty relating to the future 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), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac, and together with Fannie Mae, the GSEs), the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) and regulators, as well as the impacts on borrowers and the economy generally; 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 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 increased borrower delinquency levels or other factors; our ability to collect anticipated tax refunds, including on the timeframe expected; the future of our long-term relationship and remaining servicing agreements with New Residential Investment Corp. (NRZ); our ability to continue to improve our financial performance through cost re-engineering efforts and other actions; our ability to continue to grow our origination business and increase our origination volumes in a competitive market and uncertain interest rate environment; uncertainty related to claims, litigation, cease and desist orders and investigations brought by government agencies and private parties regarding our servicing, foreclosure, modification, origination and other practices, including uncertainty related to past, present or future investigations, litigation, cease and desist orders and settlements with state regulators, State Attorneys General, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and 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 related responses by key counterparties, including lenders, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae; our ability to comply with the terms of our settlements with regulatory agencies, as well as general regulatory requirements, and the costs of doing so; increased regulatory scrutiny and media attention; any adverse developments in existing legal proceedings or the initiation of new legal proceedings; our ability to interpret correctly and comply with financial and other requirements of regulators, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae, as well as those set forth in our debt and other agreements; our ability to comply with our servicing agreements, including our ability to comply with our agreements with, and the requirements of, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae and maintain our seller/servicer and other statuses with them; our ability to fund future draws on existing loans in our reverse mortgage portfolio; 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; as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed in Ocwen’s reports and filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and current and quarterly reports since such date. Anyone wishing to understand Ocwen’s business should review our SEC filings. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and, we disclaim any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
| Investors: | Media: |
| June Campbell | Dico Akseraylian |
| T: (856) 917-3190 | T: (856) 917-0066 |
| E: shareholderrelations@ocwen.com | E: mediarelations@ocwen.com |
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