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Commitments and Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Note 28 — Commitments and Contingencies Litigation Contingencies We are subject to various pending legal proceedings, including those subject to loss sharing and indemnification provisions of our various acquisitions. In our opinion, the resolution of those proceedings will not have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Regulatory Contingencies We are subject to a number of pending federal and state regulatory investigations, examinations, inquiries, requests for information and/or other actions. In July 2010, OLS received two subpoenas from the Federal Housing Finance Agency as conservator for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in connection with ten private label mortgage securitization transactions where Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have invested. The transactions include mortgage loans serviced but not originated by OLS or its affiliates. On January 18, 2012, OLS received a subpoena from the NY DFS requesting documents regarding OLS’ policies, procedures and practices regarding lender-placed or “force-placed” insurance which is required to be provided for borrowers who allow their hazard insurance policies to lapse. Separately, on December 5, 2012, we entered into a Consent Order with the NY DFS in which we agreed to the appointment of a Monitor to oversee our compliance with an Agreement on Servicing Practices. The Monitor began its work in 2013, and we continue to cooperate with the Monitor. We devote substantial resources to regulatory compliance, and we incur, and expect to continue to incur, significant ongoing costs with respect to compliance in connection with the Agreement on Servicing Practices and the work of the Monitor. In early February 2014, the NY DFS requested that Ocwen put an indefinite hold on an acquisition from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo) of MSRs and related servicing advances relating to a portfolio of approximately 184,000 loans with a UPB of approximately $39.0 billion (see Note 30 — Subsequent Events below). The NY DFS expressed an interest in evaluating further our ability to handle more servicing. We have agreed to place the transaction on indefinite hold. We are cooperating with the NY DFS on this matter. On February 9, 2012, HUD, attorneys general representing 49 states and the District of Columbia and other agencies announced a $25 billion settlement (the National Mortgage Settlement) with the five largest mortgage servicers – Bank of America Corporation, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc. (formerly GMAC) – regarding servicing and foreclosure issues. In addition to assessing monetary penalties which are required to be used to provide financial relief to borrowers (including refinancing and principal write-downs), the National Mortgage Settlement requires that these servicers implement changes in how they service mortgage loans, handle foreclosures and provide information to bankruptcy courts. As part of the ResCap Acquisition, OLS is required to service the ResCap loans in accordance with the requirements of the National Mortgage Settlement, although OLS is not responsible for any payment, penalty or financial obligation, including but not limited to providing Ally’s share of financial relief to borrowers under that settlement. On December 19, 2013, we reached an agreement, which was subject to court approval, involving the CFPB and various state attorneys general and other state agencies that regulate the mortgage servicing industry (Regulators). On February 26, 2014, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered a consent judgment approving the agreement. The agreement has four key elements:
• | A commitment by Ocwen to service loans in accordance with specified servicing guidelines and to be subject to oversight by an independent national monitor for three years. Ocwen is presently subject to substantially the same guidelines and oversight with respect to the portion of its servicing portfolio acquired from ResCap in early 2013.
• | A payment of $127.3 million, which includes a fixed amount for administrative expenses, to a consumer relief fund to be disbursed by an independent administrator to eligible borrowers. Pursuant to indemnification and loss sharing provisions of applicable acquisition documents, approximately half of this consumer relief fund payment is to be funded by the former owners of certain servicing portfolios previously acquired by Ocwen and integrated into Ocwen’s servicing platform. Ocwen established a reserve of $66.9 million with respect to its portion of the payment into the consumer relief fund. This reserve is expected to cover all of Ocwen’s portion of the consumer relief fund payment.
• | A commitment by Ocwen to continue its principal forgiveness modification programs to delinquent and underwater borrowers, including underwater borrowers at imminent risk of default, in an aggregate amount of at least $2 billion over three years. These and all of Ocwen’s other loan modifications are designed to be sustainable for homeowners while providing a net present value for loan investors that is superior to that of foreclosure. Principal forgiveness as part of a loan modification is determined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the applicable servicing agreement. Principal forgiveness does not involve an expense to Ocwen other than the operating expense incurred in arranging the modification, which is part of Ocwen’s role as loan servicer.
• | Ocwen and the former owners of certain of the acquired servicing portfolios will receive from the Regulators comprehensive releases, subject to certain exceptions, from liability with respect to residential mortgage servicing, modification and foreclosure practices.
One or more of the foregoing regulatory actions or our failure to comply with the commitments we have made with respect to such regulatory actions or other regulatory actions in the future against us of a similar or different nature could cause us to incur fines, penalties, settlement costs, damages, legal fees or other charges in material amounts or could impose additional requirements or restrictions on our activities. Any of these occurrences 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 and results of operations. In addition to these matters, Ocwen receives periodic inquires, both formal and informal in nature, from various federal and state agencies as part of those agencies’ oversight of our mortgage servicing, origination and collection activities. Such ongoing inquiries, including those into servicer foreclosure processes, could result in additional actions by state or federal governmental bodies, regulators or the courts with respect to our mortgage servicing, origination and collection activities and could result in an extension of foreclosure timelines, which may be applicable generally to the servicing industry or to us in particular. In addition, a number of our match funded advance facilities contain provisions that limit the eligibility of advances to be financed based on the length of time that advances are outstanding, and two of our match funded advance facilities have provisions that limit new borrowings if average foreclosure timelines extend beyond a certain time period, either of which, if such provisions applied, could adversely affect liquidity by reducing our average effective advance rate. Increases in the amount of advances and the length of time to recover advances, fines or increases in operating expenses, and decreases in the advance rate and availability of financing for advances could result in increased borrowings, reduced cash and higher interest expense which could negatively impact our liquidity and profitability. Loan Put-Back and Related Contingencies Ocwen has been a party to loan sales and securitizations dating back to the 1990s. The majority of securities issued in these transactions has been retired and is not subject to put-back risk. There is one remaining securitization with an original UPB of approximately $200.0 million where Ocwen provided representations and warranties, and the loans were originated in the last decade. Ocwen performed due diligence on each of the loans included in this securitization. The outstanding UPB of this securitization was $36.0 million at December 31, 2013, and the outstanding balance of the notes was $35.9 million. Ocwen is not aware of any inquiries or claims regarding loan put-backs for any transaction where we made representations and warranties. We do not expect loan put-backs, if any, in these transactions to result in any material change to our financial position, operating results or liquidity. Homeward’s contracts with purchasers of originated loans contain provisions that require indemnification or repurchase of the related loans under certain circumstances. Additionally, in one of the servicing contracts that Homeward acquired in 2008 from Freddie Mac, Homeward assumed the origination representations and warranties even though it did not originate the loans. While the language in the purchase contracts varies, they contain provisions that require Homeward to indemnify purchasers of related 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
• | there is a failure to comply, at the individual loan level or otherwise, with regulatory requirements.
We believe that, as a result of the current market environment, 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. As our lending business grows, we expect that our exposure to indemnification risks and repurchase requests is likely to increase. If home values were to decrease, our realized loan losses from loan repurchases and indemnifications may increase as well. As a result, our reserve for repurchases may increase beyond our current expectations. If we are required to indemnify or repurchase loans that we originate and sell, and where we have assumed this risk on loans that we service, as discussed above, in either case resulting in losses that exceed our related reserve, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. In several recent court actions, mortgage loan sellers against whom repurchase claims have been asserted based on alleged breaches of representations and warranties are defending on various grounds including the expiration of statutes of limitation, lack of notice and opportunity to cure and vitiation of the obligation to repurchase as a result of foreclosure or charge off of the loan. Ocwen is not a party to any of the actions, but we are the servicer for certain securitizations involved in such actions. Ocwen has entered into tolling agreements with respect to its role as servicer for a very small number of securitizations and may enter into additional tolling agreements in the future. Should Ocwen be made a party to these or similar actions, we may need to defend allegations that we failed to service loans in accordance with applicable agreements and that such failures prejudiced the rights of repurchase claimants against loan sellers. We believe that any such allegations would be without merit and, if necessary, would vigorously defend against them. If, however, we were required to compensate claimants for losses related to seller breaches of representations and warranties in respect of loans we service, then our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. We have exposure to representation, warranty and indemnification obligations because of our lending, sales and securitization activities and our acquisitions to the extent we assume one or more of these obligations and in connection with our servicing practices. At December 31, 2013, we had provided or assumed representation and warranty obligations in connection with $89.1 billion of UPB, covering both forward and reverse mortgage loans. At December 31, 2013, we had outstanding representation and warranty repurchase demands of $158.8 million UPB (753 loans). We review each demand and monitor through resolution, primarily through rescission, loan repurchase or make-whole payment. The following table presents the changes in our liability for indemnification obligations for the year ended December 31, 2013, including representation and warranty obligations and compensatory fees for foreclosures that may ultimately exceed investor timelines:
Balance at December 31, 2012 | $ | 38,140 |
Provision for representation and warranty obligations | 18,154 |
New production reserves | 1,325 |
Obligations assumed in connection with MSR and servicing business acquisitions | 190,658 |
Charge-offs and other (1) | (55,561 | )
Balance at December 31, 2013 | $ | 192,716 |
(1) | Includes principal and interest losses realized in connection with repurchased loans, make-whole, indemnification and fee payments and settlements net of recoveries, if any.
We believe that it is reasonably possible that losses beyond amounts currently recorded for potential representation and warranty obligations and related claims described above could occur, and such losses could have an adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. However, based on currently available information, we are unable to estimate a range of reasonably possible losses above amounts that have been recorded at December 31, 2013. Lease Commitments We lease certain of our premises and equipment under non-cancelable operating leases with terms expiring through 2018 exclusive of renewal option periods. Our annual aggregate minimum rental commitments under these leases are summarized as follows:
2014 | $ | 19,798 |
2015 | 20,087 |
2016 | 18,331 |
2017 | 11,249 |
2018 | 4,453 |
Thereafter | — |
Total minimum lease payments | $ | 73,918 |
In connection with business acquisitions we completed in recent years, we assumed the obligation for the lease agreements associated with certain facilities. The rental commitments in the table above for operating leases include the remaining amounts due through the earlier of the lease expiration date or the early termination date. We sublease from Altisource 2,094 square feet of space as our principal executive office in Atlanta, Georgia. Under the terms of the agreement, Ocwen is responsible for monthly base rent plus a proportionate amount of maintenance costs and other shared services. The sublease is in effect through October 2014. We converted rental commitments for our facilities outside the U.S. to U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect at December 31, 2013. Rent expense for 2013, 2012 and 2011 was $27.4 million, $14.7 million and $5.6 million, respectively.

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