Ocwen profits fall sharply in second quarter

The beleaguered servicer still turned a profit in Q2, but saw a steep decline from its first-quarter revenue

Beleaguered mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial saw its profits fall steeply in the second quarter, according to company reports.

The servicer has seen a profit this year – a departure from 2014, when it lost $546 million, according to HousingWire – but its second-quarter profits showed a steep decline from its first-quarter numbers.

In the first quarter, Ocwen reported a net income of $34.4 million. In the second quarter, its net income was just $10 million, according to HousingWire.

Ronb Faris, president and CEO of Ocwen, said the company is trying to work toward a “bank-like” risk and compliance infrastructure and cut costs.

“We continue to work closely with our regulators and monitors, and the environment remains stable,” he said. “…We were profitable and generated strong operating cash flow.”

“Our aim is to reduce our costs by over $150 million, while continuing to enhance the borrower experience, strengthen our risk and compliance infrastructure and deliver strong loss mitigation results,” Faris added. “Similar to our plan to grow our origination capabilities, this cost improvement initiative is aggressive, but it is a critically important step in our transformation and one that is necessary to ensure our long-term success.”

Ocwen has had a rough go of it in the last couple of years, facing strong criticism and occasional legal action over servicing blunders. In April, the servicer and force-placed insurer Assurant agreed to pay $10 million to settle class-action claims of kickbacks.