Citi Unit Buys Argent

The Markets & Banking business of New York-based Citigroup has purchased the wholesale mortgage origination business and mortgage servicing assets of ACC Capital Holdings, Orange, Calif.Citi acquired an option to buy those businesses in February as part of an agreement to provide working capital to ACH. The wholesale business operated under the name Argent Mortgage. The transaction was announced Aug. 31 and closed the next day. "Exercising our option to acquire the assets from ACH's wholesale origination and servicing business allows Citi to secure valuable and scalable platforms in a market undergoing significant change," said Jeffrey A. Perlowitz, head of global securitized markets in Citi's Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities unit. "Through this acquisition, we gain important operational and pricing efficiencies and the ability to extend the high lending standards of our existing residential mortgage business from point of origination through securitization and servicing." Citi received $45 million in servicing rights from ACH in the transaction.