Walter Investment Management Corp. Responds To Proposed FHFA Minimum Financial Eligibility Requirements For Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Walter Investment Management Corp. WAC ("Walter Investment" or the "Company") today responded to the FHFA's proposed minimum financial eligibility requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers which were released January 30, 2015.

Mark J. O'Brien, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Walter Investment said, "We are pleased that the proposed minimum financial eligibility requirements have been issued, providing additional clarity to the Enterprise's Seller/Servicers.  We applaud the FHFA's thoughtful and deliberate approach to developing these requirements and look forward to their finalization later this year.  We have reviewed the proposed standards for our seller/servicer entities which are the entities contractually obligated to the Enterprises.  Based on our review of the requirements and our preliminary discussions with our counterparties we expect that our Seller/Servicers would currently be in compliance with the new requirements as proposed  if the proposed rules were in effect today, positioning us to operate and grow our businesses for the foreseeable future.  These are proposed requirements that are subject to further development and interpretation and we look forward to engaging with FHFA and the Enterprises as these rules are finalized."

About Walter Investment Management Corp.

Walter Investment Management Corp. is an asset manager, mortgage servicer and originator focused on finding solutions for consumers and credit owners.  Based in Tampa, Fla., the Company has over 6,600 employees and services a diverse loan portfolio.   For more information about Walter Investment Management Corp., please visit the Company's website at www.walterinvestment.com.

Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Certain of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "estimates," "assumes," "may," "should," "will," "outlook," "guidance," or other similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, and the Company's (also referred to herein as "we," "us," or "our") actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from future results, performance or achievements expressed in these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, intentions and expectations. These statements are not guarantees or indicative of future performance. Important assumptions and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those factors, risks and uncertainties described below and in more detail in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 under the caption "Risk Factors,"  our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2014, June 30, 2014 and September 30, 2014 under the caption "Risk Factors," and our other filings with the SEC.

In particular (but not by way of limitation), the following important factors, risks and uncertainties could affect our future results, performance and achievements and could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements:

• increased scrutiny and potential enforcement actions by federal and state agencies, including a pending investigation by the CFPB and the FTC, the investigation by the Department of Justice and HUD, and the investigations by the state attorneys general working group and the Office of the United States Trustee;
• uncertainties related to our ability to meet increasing performance and compliance standards, such as those of the National Mortgage Settlement, and reporting obligations and increases to the cost of doing business as a result thereof;
• uncertainties related to inquiries from government agencies into collection, foreclosure, loss mitigation, bankruptcy, loan servicing transfers and lender-placed insurance practices;
• uncertainties relating to interest curtailment obligations and any related financial and litigation exposure (including exposure relating to false claims);
• unexpected losses resulting from pending, threatened or unforeseen litigation, arbitration or other third-party claims against the Company;
• changes in, and/or more stringent enforcement of, federal, state and local policies, laws and regulations affecting our business, including mortgage and reverse mortgage originations and servicing and lender-placed insurance;
• loss of our loan servicing, loan origination, insurance agency, and collection agency licenses, or changes to our licensing requirements;
• our ability to remain qualified as a GSE approved seller, servicer or component servicer, including the ability to continue to comply with the GSEs' respective loan and selling and servicing guides;
• the substantial resources (including senior management time and attention) we devote to, and the significant compliance costs we incur in connection with, regulatory compliance and regulatory examinations and inquiries, and any fines, penalties or similar payments we make in connection with resolving such matters;
• our ability to earn anticipated levels of performance and incentive fees on serviced business;
• the ability of our customers, under certain circumstances, to terminate our servicing and sub-servicing agreements, including agreements relating to our management and disposition of real estate owned properties for GSEs and investors;
• a downgrade in our servicer ratings by one or more of the rating agencies that rate us as a residential loan servicer;
• our ability to satisfy various GSE and other capital requirements applicable to our business;
• uncertainties relating to the status and future role of GSEs, and the effects of any changes to the servicing compensation structure for mortgage servicers pursuant to programs of GSEs or various regulatory authorities;
• changes to HAMP, HARP, the HECM program or other similar government programs;
• uncertainty as to the volume of originations activity we will benefit from following the expiration of HARP, which is scheduled to occur on December 31, 2015;
• uncertainties related to the processes for judicial and non-judicial foreclosure proceedings, including potential additional costs, delays or moratoria in the future or claims pertaining to past practices;
• our ability to implement strategic initiatives, particularly as they relate to our ability to raise capital and develop new business, including acquisitions of mortgage servicing rights, the development of our originations business and the implementation of delinquency flow loan servicing programs, all of which are subject to customer demand and various third-party approvals;
• risks related to our acquisitions, including our ability to successfully integrate large volumes of assets and servicing rights, as well as businesses and platforms, that we have acquired or may acquire in the future into our business, any delay or failure to realize the anticipated benefits we expect to realize from such acquisitions, and our ability to obtain approvals required to acquire and retain servicing rights and other assets in the future;
• risks related to the financing incurred in connection with past or future acquisitions and operations, including our ability to achieve cash flows sufficient to carry our debt and otherwise comply with the covenants of our debt;
• risks related to the high amount of leverage we utilize in the operation of our business;
• our dependence upon third-party funding in order to finance certain of our businesses;
• the effects of competition on our existing and potential future business, including the impact of competitors with greater financial resources and broader scopes of operation;
• our ability to successfully develop our loan originations platforms;
• the occurrence of anticipated growth of the specialty servicing sector and the reverse mortgage sector;
• local, regional, national and global economic trends and developments in general, and local, regional and national real estate and residential mortgage market trends in particular;
• continued uncertainty in the United States home sales market, including both the volume and pricing of sales, due to adverse economic conditions or otherwise;
• fluctuations in interest rates and levels of mortgage originations and prepayments;
• changes in regards to the rights and obligations of property owners, mortgagors and tenants;
• changes in public, client or investor opinion on mortgage origination, loan servicing and debt collection practices;
• risks related to cyber-attacks against us or our vendors, including any related interruptions to our operations, remediation costs and reputational damage;
• the effect of our risk management strategies, including the management and protection of the personal and private information of our customers and mortgage holders and the protection of our information systems from third-party interference (cybersecurity);
• changes in accounting rules and standards, which are highly complex and continuing to evolve in the forward and reverse servicing and originations sectors;
• the satisfactory maintenance of effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures;
• our continued listing on the New York Stock Exchange; and
• the ability or willingness of Walter Energy, our prior parent, and other counterparties to satisfy material obligations under agreements with us.

All of the above factors, risks and uncertainties are difficult to predict, contain uncertainties that may materially affect actual results and may be beyond our control. New factors, risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all such factors, risks and uncertainties.  Although we believe that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements (including those relating to our outlook) contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore any of these statements included herein may prove to be inaccurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the results or conditions described in such statements or our objectives and plans will be achieved. We make no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date any such statement is made, except as otherwise required under the federal securities laws. If we were in any particular instance to update or correct a forward-looking statement, investors and others should not conclude that we would make additional updates or corrections thereafter except as otherwise required under the federal securities laws.

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SOURCE Walter Investment Management Corp.