NYDFS Alleges that Nonbank Servicers Use Affiliates To Side-Step Force-Placed Insurance Protections
August 7, 2014
The New York Department of Financial Services said it has concerns that certain nonbank servicers are using complex arrangements with affiliates to side-step borrower protections in force-placed insurance. Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky detailed what he called a “troubling” scheme between Ocwen Financial and a “related party,” Altisource Portfolio Solutions. “This complex arrangement appears designed to funnel as much as $65 million in fees annually from already-distressed homeowners to Altisource for minimal work,” Lawsky said in a letter this week to Timothy Hayes, Ocwen’s general counsel. According to the NYDFS, Ocwen recently implemented...