Ocwen facing ‘legal actions’ after admitting internal problems

Ocwen facing ‘legal actions’ after admitting internal problems

NEW YORK POST

By Kevin Dugan

January 8, 2015 | 10:53pm

http://nypost.com/2015/01/08/ocwen-facing-legal-actions-after-admitting-internal-problems/

Ocwen may be getting rid of Chairman Bill Erbey, but not its problems.

The embattled mortgage servicer could face an onslaught of “legal actions” from state and federal regulators this year after the company admitted to a slew of internal problems that led to the downfall of its founder and chairman, according to a research report.

The legal pressure could come from as many as 49 state regulators, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and the monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, Deutsche Bank analyst Ying Shen wrote in a Wednesday report.

Ocwen is the largest non-bank US mortgage servicer, with about $430 billion in loans, according to Shen.

The Deutsche Bank report follows the company’s settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services last month, when it agreed to $150 million in fines and restitution, the installment of a new monitor and that founder Erbey would step down from Ocwen and four other interrelated companies.

The settlement was a dramatic conclusion to a two-year investigation led by DFS Superintendent Ben Lawsky into unfair business practices, which included backdating letters to distressed mortgage holders, self-dealing within the related companies and pushing homeowners into foreclosure.

Erbey, 68, is expected to step down on Jan. 16.

Ocwen shares fell 1.1 percent, to $13.25, Thursday.Tom Dresslar, a spokesperson for the California Department of Business Oversight told Forbes on Tuesday.