New York's banking regulator is probing Ocwen Financial Corp, which collects mortgage payments, for possibly over-charging borrowers and investors to auction off foreclosed properties.Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, said in a letter to Ocwen on Monday there were "significant concerns" the company and an affiliate, Altisource Portfolio Solutions SA, were engaged in so-called "self-dealing" through an online auction site called Hubzu.Self-dealing is when a company represents its own interests in a transaction, sometimes to the detriment of its clients' interests.Ocwen, the fourth largest mortgage servicer in the United States in 2013, uses Hubzu, an Altisource Portfolio subsidiary, to auction off borrower homes facing foreclosure and foreclosed investor-owned properties.
Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A.( Altisource), together with its subsidiaries, is a provider of services focused on technology-enabled, knowledge-based functions related to real estate and mortgage portfolio management, asset recovery and customer relationship management. Shares of ASPS fell by 2.38% or $-2.79/share to $114.24. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $70.70 and as high as $171.00. On average, 314900 shares of ASPS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 450643.
Ocwen Financial Corporation is a financial services holding company. Shares of OCN fell by 2.44% or $-0.95/share to $38.06. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $33.54 and as high as $60.18. On average, 3713610 shares of OCN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2421503.
Source
