ATLANTA, Nov. 1, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocwen Financial Corporation ("Ocwen" or the "Company") (NYSE:OCN) today reported net income of $51.4 million, or $0.37 per share, for the third quarter of 2012. This compares with net income of $20.2 million, or $0.19 per share, for the third quarter of 2011. Revenue for the third quarter of 2012 is a record-setting $232.7 million, up 90% from the third quarter of 2011. Income from operations is also a record at $139.9 million for the third quarter of 2012 as compared to $56.8 million for the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 146%. There were no normalizing items in the third quarter of 2012, so Ocwen's normalized pre-tax earnings are $80.7 million which represents a 69% increase over normalized pre-tax earnings in the third quarter of 2011.

Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 is $115.6 million, or $0.84 per share, as compared to $68.7 million, or $0.64 per share, for the same period in 2011.

Third quarter business performance highlights:

• Acquired mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and boarded loans from flow deals totaling $6.1 billion of unpaid principal balance (UPB).

• Boarded flow non-performing loan subservicing portfolio with a UPB $1.1 billion (4,400 loans) in August and another $2.5 billion (8,800 loans) in September from a large bank.
• Purchased $2.2 billion UPB (7,100 loans) of Fannie Mae MSRs which boarded on October 1, 2012.
• Purchased $316 million UPB (1,700 loans) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MSRs in July 2012.

• Generated Cash flow from operations of $533.5 million for a total of $1.4 billion through the first nine months of 2012.
• Reduced overall delinquencies from 24.5% at the end of June 2012 to 23.6% at the end of September 2012.
• Completed 18,135 loan modifications. HAMP modifications accounted for 29% of completed modifications.
• Completed three sales to Home Loan Servicing Solutions (HLSS) in August and September 2012 of rights to receive the servicing fees on approximately $29.9 billion of UPB and associated servicing advances. Ocwen received total sales proceeds of $1.1 billion.
• Deferred servicing fees related to delinquent borrower payments not accrued on Ocwen's balance sheet amounted to $295 million at the end of September 2012.

On October 3, 2012, Ocwen entered into a merger agreement that will make Homeward Residential Holdings, Inc. ("Homeward") a wholly owned subsidiary of Ocwen. In the merger, Ocwen will acquire approximately $77 billion in UPB of MSRs as well as Homeward's existing origination platform and certain other ancillary businesses. As consideration for the merger, Ocwen will pay approximately $750 million. Of this amount, approximately $588 million will be paid in cash and $162 million will be paid in preferred shares. The merger is expected to close in December 2012.

As previously announced on October 24, 2012, Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, the mortgage servicing arm of Ocwen Financial Corporation, and Walter Investment Management Corp. were the successful bidders for the mortgage servicing and origination platform assets of Residential Capital, LLC (ResCap). The bid, with a purchase price of $3 billion, is subject to definitive documentation and Bankruptcy Court approval. 

Upon closing, Ocwen would acquire approximately $126.6 billion of UPB in MSRs and $31 billion of UPB of subservicing as of August 31, 2012. These numbers exclude approximately $120 billion of subservicing for Ally Bank that is likely to be sold prior to closing. Under the joint bidding arrangement, Walter Investment Management Corp. will acquire the Fannie Mae mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portion of ResCap's servicing portfolio, representing approximately $50.4 billion in UPB, as well as the origination and capital markets platform. 

On October 26, 2012, Ocwen and Genworth Financial Corporation (NYSE:GNW) entered into an agreement whereby Ocwen will acquire Genworth Financial Home Equity Access, Inc. for approximately $22 million in cash. The company, which will be renamed Liberty Home Equity Solutions, Inc. ("Liberty"), is the number one reverse mortgage lender, according to the latest monthly data, with strong positions in both retail and wholesale originations. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

"With the closing of the ResCap and Homeward acquisitions, Ocwen will become the fifth largest mortgage servicer in the country. More importantly, the infrastructure, management and staff from these acquisitions expand and enhance our capabilities in important areas such as Ginnie Mae and master servicing. Moreover, the Homeward origination platform will provide Ocwen with organic growth and improved ability to work with existing borrowers on refinancing opportunities," said Ron Faris President and CEO. "Additionally, the acquisition of Liberty positions us well in a market with enormous future growth potential."

Mr. Faris continued, "Our record-setting results in the third quarter of 2012 show the strong earnings power of the business currently on the books and points to our ability to generate strong results on acquired portfolios. Modifications for the quarter came in at the midpoint of our expectations and lower than last quarter as Ocwen tested delinquent loans for HAMP 2 eligibility. This delayed modifications in the short-run, but we expect the program to be positive longer-term. We are already seeing a rebound in modifications this quarter. Our financial performance also indicates that our revenue ramp-up and delinquency performance on recently boarded portfolios continue to track well against our pro forma expectations."

Chairman Bill Erbey stated, "The strong market acceptance of the HLSS follow-on offering and their recently completed term note issuance positions Ocwen well to fund expected growth at a reduced cost. HLSS, combined with our track-record of strong cash-flow from operations, will likely enable us to execute both the Homeward and ResCap transactions without issuing new equity beyond the $162 million of preferred shares used to acquire a portion of Homeward. We expect both transactions to provide attractive returns to our shareholders."  

In the third quarter of 2011, Ocwen had a net total of $18.7 million of normalizing items. For more detail on normalizing items as well as prior earnings releases and SEC filings please refer to the "Shareholder Relations" section of our website at www.ocwen.com.

Ocwen Financial Corporation is a leading provider of residential and commercial loan servicing, special servicing and asset management services. Ocwen is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in West Palm Beach and Orlando, Florida, Houston, Texas, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands and Washington, DC and support operations in India and Uruguay. Utilizing advanced technology and world-class training and processes, we provide solutions that help homeowners and make our clients' loans worth more. Additional information is available at www.ocwen.com.

This news release 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. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic and market conditions, prevailing interest or currency exchange rates, governmental regulations and policies, international political and economic uncertainty, availability of adequate and timely sources of liquidity, federal income tax rates, real estate market conditions and trends and the outcome of ongoing litigation as well as other risks detailed in Ocwen's reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2012 and June 30, 2012. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and should not be relied upon. Ocwen undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements.

This news release contains references to "normalized" results, which are non-GAAP performance measures. We believe these non-GAAP performance measures may provide additional meaningful comparisons between current results and results in prior periods. Non-GAAP performance measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the Company's reported results under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

CONTACT: John V. Britti

         Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer 

         T: (561) 682-7535

         E: John.Britti@Ocwen.com