Ocwen Reports $66.5MM Loss

Ocwen Financial Corp., West Palm Beach, Fla., has reported a net loss of $66.5 million ($0.99 per share) for 2002, compared with a loss of $124.8 million ($1.86 per share) in 2001.For the fourth quarter, the company reported a net loss of $7.8 million ($0.12 per share), compared with a loss of $6.9 million ($0.10 per share) a year earlier. William C. Erbey, Ocwen's chairman and chief executive officer, said the fourth-quarter loss included nonrecurring and severance charges totaling $6.5 million that will lower the company's expense structure. "We continue to make progress in our strategy of transitioning Ocwen to a fee-based business and reducing our noncore assets," Mr. Erbey said. He cited the company's core business earnings as "especially noteworthy" because its residential loan servicing business had record pretax earnings of $9.2 million in the fourth quarter despite very low interest rates. As of Dec. 31, Ocwen serviced approximately $30.7 billion of loans, up 40% from $21.9 billion at year-end 2001, Ocwen said. The company can be found online at http://www.ocwen.com.