With refinance volume falling and minimum net-worth requirements heading north, advisors in the mergers-and-acquisitions market say undercapitalized firms should sell now, while they still can. Larry Charbonneau, a principal of Charbonneau & Associates of Texas, said he is currently working on four deals but noted that, “There a lot of shops out there with less than $5 million in capital that need to do something but haven’t realized it yet.” Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have net-worth minimums in the $3 million range, there is...
Ocwen Financial, the nation’s top-ranked subprime servicer, was the only firm among the major servicers that increased its subprime servicing portfolio (excluding subservicing) in the third quarter of 2013.
Mortgage professionals who work the M&A trade contend that interest in residential finance is not waning in the least, but potential buyers are being a bit more choosey these days.
One last thought on Berkowitz and Fairholme: To get Congress to listen to your ideas you have to donate money. Berkowitz can check that box off his to-do list. He has been a generous donor to Republicans and Democrats alike over the past two election cycles.
The frothy prices being offered for MSRs are beginning to cool somewhat. “There’s definitely a tighter range on bids lately,” said Matt Maurer, managing director of MountainView Servicing Group.
According to Alice Alvey of Indecomm Mortgage U, “many shops are reassessing originator comp plans for January 2014 to adjust to the changing margins and seize the opportunity to blame it on the change in the law."
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