Major lender to sell off $41bn in servicing rights

The nation’s largest home lender is selling the servicing rights on billions of dollars in mortgage loans

The nation’s largest home lender is selling the servicing rights on billions of dollars in mortgage loans, according to a Bloomberg report.

Wells Fargo will be selling servicing rights on $41bn worth of government-backed mortgages, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Servicers handle billing and collection on mortgages, as well as overseeing foreclosures on the properties of nonpaying borrowers.

Bloomberg, citing sources who requested anonymity, said the servicing rights being sold are on mortgages for “non-core” borrowers, so identified because they have few products from the bank besides their mortgages. 

Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Tim Sloan had already stated earlier this week that the lender could sell off servicing rights in the near future. 

“Look for us to potentially do something in the next couple of quarters,” he said at Monday investors’ conference. “It will be primarily focused – if we go ahead and execute – on mortgage-only customers, so we don’t have any confusion from a relationship standpoint.”