Despite significantly lower mortgage originations, Ocwen Financial Corp. managed to swing from a quarterly loss to a profit. The servicing portfolio was reduced.
Income before income taxes in the first-three months of 2018 came to $5 million, according to the West Palm Beach, Florida-based company’s first-quarter earnings report.
Ocwen’s income swung from a $30 million loss during the same three months last year and a $45 million loss during the preceding three-month period.
Loan originations totaled $0.380 billion — including $0.216 billion in forward loans and $0.164 billion in reverse mortgages. Business plummeted from $0.702 billion in the fourth-quarter 2017 and $1.114 billion in the first quarter of last year.
Ocwen reported a primary servicing portfolio of $171.596 billion as of March 31, 2018 — including $98.331 billion serviced for New Residential Investment Corp. The total was reduced from $177.289 billion three months earlier and 198.172 billion one year earlier.
Including $1.793 billion in subservicing, Ocwen serviced $173.389 billion.
Loans held for investment increased to $4.988 billion from $4.716 billion as of Dec. 31, 2017.
As of March 31 of this year, delinquency was 9.0 percent, improving from 9.3 percent as of year-end 2017 and 10.7 percent on the same date last year.
Ocwen’s worldwide staff of 7,154 included 4,700 people in India and 600 positions in the Philippines. That put estimated U.S. headcount at up to 1,854 employees — fewer than 2,038 at the end of last year.