Walter Investment Management Corp. continued to expand its mortgage servicing portfolio, though it suffered a setback in home loan originations. The lender is pondering nonconforming business.
Residential originations during the three months ended March 31 amounted to $3.7 billion, Walter reported in its quarterly earnings.
Business declined from $5.3 billion during the fourth-quarter 2013 but was far better than the revised $1.4 billion in new loans closed in the first-quarter 2013.
First-quarter 2014 activity included $3.5 billion in traditional originations and $0.245 billion in reverse mortgage production.
Consumer lending generated 51 percent of the latest activity, and correspondent lending was responsible for 49 percent.
Walter noted that its “retention business [is] ramping with recently boarded portfolios.”
The report also indicated that its origination business is transitioning as “non-conforming opportunity is explored.”
The total mortgage servicing portfolio — including forward and reverse mortgages — grew to 1,714,590 loans for $190.978 billion. That was an increase from 1,423,044 loans for $157.586 billion as of Dec. 31, 2013.
The latest total included $179.674 billion in capitalized servicing rights and $11.304 billion in on-balance sheet residential loans and real estate owned.
In addition, Walter maintained a subservicing portfolio of 608,487 loans for $59.172 billion as of March 31.
The Tampa, Fla.-based firm said residential loans on the balance sheet ended the most recent period at $11.728 billion, slipping from $11.736 billion at the end of last year.
The March 31 total included $1.378 billion in loans at net amortized cost and $10.349 billion in residential loans at fair value.
Delinquency of at least 30 days on the total servicing portfolio fell to 10.08 percent from 11.47 percent at the end of the fourth-quarter 2013.
Walter earned $29 million prior to income taxes, surging from $7 million in the fourth quarter but not as much as the $47 million earned in the year earlier period.
As of March 31, staffing was 6,300 employees, off from 6,400 people as of Dec. 31, 2013. The year-earlier headcount was 4,800.
A putative shareholder class action complaint was filed in a Florida federal court on March 7 alleging material misstatements made between May 9, 2012, and Feb. 26, 2014.
