New York's banking regulator is probing Ocwen Financial Corp, which collects mortgage payments, for potentially over charging borrowers and investors to auction off foreclosed properties it services. Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, sent a letter to Ocwen saying he was concerned 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, rather than those of a client.Ocwen uses Hubzu, an Altisource Portfolio subsidiary, to auction off borrower homes facing foreclosure and foreclosed investor-owned properties. When Ocwen selects Hubzu to host foreclosure or short sale auctions, the letter said, the Hubzu auction fee is 4.5 percent; when Hubzu is competing for business on the open market, its fee is as low as 1.5 percent."The relationship between Ocwen, Altisource Portfolio and Hubzu raises significant concerns regarding self-dealing," the letter said, adding that it raises questions about whether the companies are charging inflated fees through conflicted business relationships that may hurt homeowners and investors.
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 3.45% or $-4.04/share to $112.99. 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 296314.
Ocwen Financial Corporation is a financial services holding company. Shares of OCN fell by 1.88% or $-0.735/share to $38.28. 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 1449715.
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