PHH Mortgage Corporation, the parent company of leading reverse mortgage lender Liberty Reverse Mortgage, announced on Friday that the company has received its second consecutive Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) recognition from Fannie Mae.
“Servicers in this program represent the majority of Fannie Mae’s total credit risk exposure,” Fannie Mae said of the criteria. “Participants are evaluated based on their performance in the Servicer Capability Framework (SCF) operational assessment and metrics and the STAR Performance Scorecard.”
PHH’s award is in the general servicing category.
“We’re honored to have again achieved Fannie Mae’s STAR recognition for excellence in mortgage servicing,” said Scott Anderson, EVP and chief servicing officer of PHH Mortgage. “Our team is unwavering in their commitment to providing industry-leading service to our customers, clients and investors, and this recognition is a testament to their dedication and passion for supporting our customers throughout their homeownership journey.”
Anderson credits the company’s growth in its forward and reverse mortgage servicing divisions as a reflection of the PHH platform’s strength.
Last month, Liberty and PHH parent company Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE: OCN) released its Q4 2022 earnings, posting an $80 million loss. However, servicing was a bright spot and the company credited its reverse mortgage servicing with gains made last year.
“In the reverse servicing area, we grew profits from $1 million to $6 million for the quarter,” said Ocwen CFO Sean O’Neill during the earnings presentation. “This was a function of the continued integration in the reverse space, which allows us a lower cost to serve, as well as an improvement in performance-based fee income and incremental improvements as we leverage various banking relationships to optimize our return on deposits.”
Ocwen became involved in reverse mortgage servicing with a $12.4 million deal in 2021 to acquire Reverse Mortgage Solutions (RMS) from its owner, Mortgage Assets Management, LLC (MAM).
“We are very pleased to complete this transaction which triples our total owned and sub-serviced reverse portfolio and enables additional growth opportunities through a five-year sub-servicing agreement,” Ocwen CEO Glen Messina said at the time. “The acquisition provides us with a high-quality reverse servicing platform, experienced people and customized reverse technology and supports our strategy to build an in-house reverse servicing platform.”
