Ocwen Financial comments on the new financial eligibility requirements announced by the FHFA and Ginnie Mae

Ocwen Financial Corp.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Sept. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE: OCN) (“Ocwen” or the “Company”), a leading non-bank mortgage servicer and originator, issued the following statement in response to the minimum financial requirements announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) and Ginnie Mae (“GNMA”) for corporate vendors/service providers and Ginnie Mae issuers.

“We currently meet and expect to meet the new FHFA and GNMA liquidity and capital standards when they come into effect in September 2023, with the exception of GNMA’s risk-based capital ratio. We are in discussions with GNMA regarding their risk-based capital requirements, which will come into effect at the end of 2023. We evaluate our alternatives and the costs and benefits of achieving compliance with GNMA’s risk-based capital requirements. GNMA Forward Servicing and Origination is not a material part of our business and represents approximately 4% of our total servicing SRP as of June 30, 2022 and less than 10% of our year-to-date origination volume as of August 31, 2022 The alternatives we are evaluating , include, among other things, external investor solutions, structural solutions or the exit from GNMA forward originations and owned servicing. Notwithstanding, we expect to continue providing GNMA forward mortgages and originating, underserving and owning GNMA reverse mortgages (or HECMs) as we do not believe these activities will be impacted by the new regulations. We intend to conduct our business appropriately to achieve compliance with risk-based capital standards when these rules come into effect. We expect to continue buying back shares through our previously announced share buyback program.”

Earlier this year, Ocwen’s mortgage subsidiary, PHH Mortgage, was recognized for outstanding service by Freddie Mac’s Gold Servicer Honors and Rewards Program (SHARP)SM Award in the Top-Tier Servicing Group and Fannie Mae’s Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR)TM Performer recognition awarded for general maintenance, solution delivery and time management and achieved HUD’s Tier 1 servicer ranking.

About Ocwen Financial Corporation

Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE: OCN) is a leading non-bank mortgage servicer and originator, providing solutions through its principal brands, PHH Mortgage and Liberty Reverse Mortgage. PHH Mortgage is one of the largest servicers in the country focused on providing a variety of service and lending programs. Liberty is one of the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lenders dedicated to education, offering loans to help customers meet their personal and financial needs. Headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida with offices and operations in the United States, US Virgin Islands, India and the Philippines, we have been serving our customers since 1988. For more information, visit our website (www.ocwen .com).

Forward-Looking Statements

This presentation contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may refer to a future time period or through the use of forward-looking terminology. Forward-looking statements are usually identified by words such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “goal,” “strategy,” “plan,” “goal,” and ” forecast” or conditional verbs such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “could” or “would” or the negative of these terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words and contain statements in this press release about our assessment of our future ability to meet the FHFA and GNMA financial eligibility requirements, the impact of these requirements on our business, and the actions we are considering in response to these new requirements. By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain. Our business has changed significantly, and we are witnessing significant shifts within the mortgage lending and services ecosystem that have magnified such uncertainties. Readers should consider these factors when considering such statements and should not place undue reliance on such statements.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. In the past, actual results have differed from the forward-looking statements, and this may happen again. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the potential for continued disruption in financial markets and business generally as a result of international events, changes in monetary and fiscal policy and other sources of instability; the impact of inflation, job disruptions and other financial difficulties of our borrowers; Uncertainty regarding the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the response of the U.S. and state governments, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the GSEs), Ginnie Mae and regulators; our ability to improve our financial performance through cost and productivity improvements; the extent to which our MSR Asset Vehicle (MAV), other transactions and corporate divestiture initiatives will generate additional subservicing volume, increase market share in the subservicing market and result in increased profitability; the timing and amount of forward and reverse loan boarding currently anticipated; whether we will increase overall investment commitments in MAV, and if so, when and on what terms; our ability to complete MSR acquisitions and other transactions, including our ability to obtain regulatory approvals; the amount, timing and long-term impact of additional share repurchases; our ability to continue to grow our reverse servicing business; our ability to retain customers and employees of acquired businesses and the extent to which acquisitions and our other strategic initiatives will help achieve our growth goals; the extent to which we will be able to execute call rights transactions and whether such transactions will generate the anticipated returns; the adequacy of our financial resources, including our sources of liquidity and the ability to sell, fund and recall advance payments, forward cancel and reverse entire loans and purchase and reverse HECM and forward loans, and repay, renew and close loans extend, borrow additional amounts as needed to meet our MSR or other investment objectives and comply with our debt covenants, including the financial and other covenants contained therein; increased service costs due to increased borrower arrears or other factors; the future of our long-term relationship with Rithm Capital Corp.; the performance of our lending business in a competitive market and uncertain interest rate environment; our ability to execute identified business development and sales opportunities; Uncertainty related to past, present or future claims, litigation, injunctions and investigations related to our maintenance, foreclosure, alteration, emergence and other practices by government agencies and private parties, including government regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) , prosecutors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); adverse effects on our business as a result of regulatory investigations, litigation, injunctions or settlements and the responses of major counterparties, including lenders, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae; our ability to comply with the terms of our regulatory settlements and the costs associated therewith; increased regulatory scrutiny and media attention; any adverse developments in existing legal proceedings or the commencement of new legal proceedings; our ability to effectively manage our regulatory and contractual compliance obligations; our ability to correctly interpret and comply with liquidity, wealth and other financial and other requirements of regulators, GSEs and Ginnie Mae and the requirements set forth in our debt and other covenants; our ability to comply with our service agreements, including our ability to meet the requirements of, and maintain our seller/servicer and other status with, the GSEs and Ginnie Mae; our ability to fund future financings relies on existing borrowings in our reverse mortgage portfolio; our service provider and credit ratings and other actions by various rating agencies, including future downgrades; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our reports and filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and any current reports or quarterly reports filed with the SEC since that date became.

Anyone interested in understanding Ocwen’s business should read our SEC filings. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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