Ocwen Settles California Servicing Charges for $223M

Ocwen Financial Corp. has reached a settlement with the California Department of Business to in which the company’s servicing unit will pay $25 million and provide another $198 million in debt forgiveness to resolve charges that Ocwen ran afoul of federal and state laws regarding borrowers' rights.

According to a Reuters report, the agreement was reached late on Friday and will not require Ocwen to acknowledge any wrongdoing, although Jan Lynn Owen, the department’s commissioner, insisted in a separate statement that the terms of the settlement “will hold Ocwen accountable for widespread violations of laws that harmed borrowers in our state.” With this settlement, the California regulator will drop its two-year-old consent order against Ocwen and will allow the company to resume servicing on residences within the state.

"Ocwen is pleased to have reached a comprehensive settlement with the DBO related to matters the agency raised, and we will quickly move forward to implement all terms associated with this agreement," said Ocwen CEO Ron Faris in a statement.