The scheduled auction today of bankrupt Residential Capital’s $200 billion mortgage servicing portfolio is coming down to fight between two Wall Street heavyweights: Ocwen Financial and Fortress Investment Group.
Ocwen has brought on a partner, Walter Investment Management after Fannie Mae — which owns 25 percent of the overall residential mortgages and 15 percent of the ResCap portfolio — made it clear it does not want Ocwen servicing its loans, The Post has learned.
“Fannie gave them the Heisman,” a source said.
Ocwen brought in its partner so Walter could acquire rights to service ResCap’s Fannie-owned loans, several sources said.
Fannie is uncomfortable with Ocwen mortgage reps being located outside the US, sources said.
Fortress Investment Group-owned NationStar is competing against Ocwen and Walter for ResCap’s platform covering 2.4 million mortgages.
The largest non-bank mortgage servicers, Ocwen and NationStar, together, service about $200 billion in loans, about the same as ResCap’s $200 billion portfolio for sale.
Banks are starting to sell their mortgage servicing rights to reduce their risks, and this sale will set the benchmark for multiples paid leading to several similar sales, an analyst said.
Within a few years, independent mortgage servicers may be handling about 10 percent of all residential mortgages, an analyst said.
Ocwen did not return calls. Fannie declined comment.