Walter Investment Management Corp. (WIM) lost $4 million in the fourth quarter and $69 million for the year because of costs tied to its purchase of Green Tree Servicing, St. Paul, Minn.
In June 2011, Walter has reached another milestone in its efforts to raise capital to fund its purchase of Green Tree by closing on the private placement securitization of $102 million of RMBS, building and installment sales contracts, promissory notes, related mortgages and other security agreements.
Despite its overall performance, Walter is bullish about the servicing business going forward and hopes to continue Green Tree's MSR growth. “We expect this new business (Green Tree) to contribute solidly to profitability in 2012 and beyond, adding a strong base of business to the portfolio and providing recurring fee and incentive revenues,” said company CEO Mark. J. O'Brien.
The publicly traded Walter bought Green Tree in July of last year. Prior to the deal, WIM had a small presence in the servicing market. But at yearend it controlled $86 billion of MSRs, a 160% gain year over year.
Pre-tax, its servicing business earned almost $11 million in 4Q11. “There continues to be significant change occurring on many fronts within our sector which represent positive trends and highlight the growing opportunity and role for specialty servicers for both the near and longer term,” O'Brien said. The firm is based in Tampa, Fla.
WIM is a REIT specializing in offering structured solutions to owners of less-than-prime, nonconforming and other credit-challenged mortgage assets.
