TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/883125
44 | TH E M R EP O RT SERVICING THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T Wells Fargo Acquires $51 Billion in MSRs from Seneca Seneca Mortgage Investments is exiting the mortgage servicing business. W ells Fargo will take over $51 bil- lion in mortgage servicing rights from Seneca Mortgage Invest- ments, the bank announced in early September. According to its website, Seneca Mortgage will no longer service mortgage loans of any type. All loans in the acquired pool are conventional/conforming mort - gage loans that are guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Franklin Codel, Head of Consumer Lending at Wells Fargo, said the bank is making all efforts to ensure a smooth transfer for ex - isting Seneca customers. Borrowers whose loans were previously serviced by Seneca will be receiv- ing a Notice of Servicing Transfer in the mail, as well as welcome information from Wells Fargo. The transfer of all servicing responsi - bilities should be finalized by the end of the fourth quarter. "We look forward to the oppor- tunity to provide excellent service to these new mortgage customers and are committed to making this a smooth transition for them," Codel said. "Mortgage servicing is an attractive, core business for Wells Fargo, and this transaction provides an opportunity for us to strategically enhance our servicing portfolio." Data on the performance of the newly acquired loans will be released in the bank's third- quarter financial results, according to the bank. The acquisition will bring Wells Fargo's total servicing portfolio to over $1.5 trillion. The bank is the largest servicer of residential mortgage loans in the United States. The acquisition announcement comes just days after Wells Fargo uncovered 1.4 million additional accounts fraudulently opened in its customers' names spurred by "unacceptable sales practices," ac - cording to CEO Timothy J. Sloan. The accounts will cost the bank around $6 million in refunds. Sloan told the Washington Post that his organization is "working hard to ensure this never happens again and to build a better bank for the future."