Walter Investment Management Corp. 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.
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 4Q. “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.
