PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2017 Results

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. PFSI today reported net income of $82.5 million for the third quarter of 2017, on revenue of $250.6 million. Net income attributable to PFSI common stockholders was $17.1 million, or $0.71 per diluted share. Book value per share increased to $17.20, up from $16.40 at June 30, 2017.

Third Quarter 2017 Highlights

• Pretax income was $94.1 million, up 62 percent from the prior quarter and down 32 percent from the third quarter of 2016; the quarter-over-quarter increase reflects strong earnings contributions from both the production and servicing businesses
• Production segment pretax income was $69.0 million, up 3 percent from the prior quarter and down 54 percent from the third quarter of 2016
  • Total loan production activity of $18.9 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB), up 8 percent from the prior quarter and down 8 percent from the third quarter of 2016
  • $17.4 billion in UPB of correspondent production, up 7 percent from the prior quarter and down 8 percent from the third quarter of 2016
  • $1.5 billion in UPB of consumer direct originations, up 20 percent from the prior quarter and down 9 percent from the third quarter of 2016
  • Interest rate lock commitments (IRLCs) on correspondent government and consumer direct loans totaled $13.2 billion, down 2 percent from the prior quarter and 19 percent from the third quarter of 2016
• Servicing segment pretax income was $24.5 million, compared to pretax losses of $11.2 million in the prior quarter and $10.7 million in the third quarter of 2016
  • Servicing segment pretax income excluding valuation-related changes was $37.1 million, up from $15.3 million the prior quarter and $9.9 million in the third quarter of 2016¹
  • Successfully transferred $11.9 billion in UPB of MSRs from previously settled acquisitions
  • Servicing portfolio grew to $238.4 billion in UPB, up 4 percent from June 30, 2017, and 31 percent from September 30, 2016
• Investment Management segment pretax income was $0.7 million, compared to $2.5 million in the prior quarter and $0.2 million in the third quarter of 2016
  • Net assets under management were $1.6 billion, essentially unchanged from June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2016
  • The private Investment Funds managed by PFSI successfully completed the sale of substantially all their remaining assets to a third party; $61 million of previously recognized carried interest was received by PFSI
• Repurchased approximately 500,000 shares of PFSI's Class A common stock at a cost of $8.6 million and a weighted average price of $17.01 per share

¹ Excludes changes in the fair value of MSRs, the ESS liability, and gains/(losses) on hedging derivatives which were $(22.0) million, $4.8 million, and $7.2 million, respectively, and a provision for credit losses on active loans of $(2.7) million in the third quarter of 2017.

"PennyMac Financial delivered strong results for the third quarter with solid contributions from both our production and servicing segments, reflecting the ongoing strength of our market-leading mortgage franchise," said President and CEO David Spector. "We continued to grow market share in both our correspondent and consumer direct channels and we look forward to the rollout of our new broker direct channel. Our servicing portfolio also has grown substantially; we now service over 2 percent of all mortgages outstanding in the United States and our financing capabilities, highlighted by our second term note issuance completed during the quarter, allow us to continue to grow share in the servicing market."

The following table presents the contribution of PennyMac Financial's Production, Servicing and Investment Management segments to pretax income:

Production Segment

Production includes the correspondent acquisition of newly originated government-insured mortgage loans for PennyMac Financial's own account, fulfillment services on behalf of PMT and consumer direct lending.

PennyMac Financial's loan production activity for the quarter totaled $18.9 billion in UPB, of which $12.4 billion in UPB was for its own account, and $6.5 billion in UPB was fee-based fulfillment activity for PMT. IRLCs on correspondent government and consumer direct loans totaled $13.2 billion in UPB.

Production segment pretax income was $69.0 million, an increase of 3 percent from the prior quarter and a decrease of 54 percent from the third quarter of 2016. Production revenue totaled $142.2 million, an increase of 9 percent from the prior quarter and a decrease of 39 percent from the third quarter of 2016. The quarter-over-quarter increase primarily resulted from a 7 percent increase in net gains on mortgage loans held for sale driven by higher pull-through for interest rate lock commitments in the consumer direct channel.

The components of net gains on mortgage loans held for sale are detailed in the following table:

PennyMac Financial performs fulfillment services for conventional conforming and jumbo loans acquired by PMT in its correspondent production business. These services include, but are not limited to: marketing; relationship management; the approval of correspondent sellers and the ongoing monitoring of their performance; reviewing loan data, documentation and appraisals to assess loan quality and risk; pricing; hedging and activities related to the subsequent sale and securitization of loans in the secondary mortgage markets for PMT. Fees earned from fulfillment of correspondent loans on behalf of PMT totaled $23.5 million in the third quarter, up 11 percent from the prior quarter and down 14 percent from the third quarter of 2016. The quarter-over-quarter change in fulfillment fee revenue was driven by an increase in acquisition volumes by PMT. The weighted average fulfillment fee rate was 36 basis points, unchanged from the prior quarter.

Production segment expenses were $73.2 million, a 15 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 12 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2016. The quarter-over-quarter increase was driven by higher incentive-based compensation, increased technology costs and headcount growth.

Servicing Segment

Servicing includes income from owned MSRs, subservicing and special servicing activities. Servicing segment pretax income was $24.5 million compared with pretax losses of $11.2 million in the prior quarter and $10.7 million in the third quarter of 2016. Servicing segment revenues totaled $103.4 million, a 59 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 94 percent increase from the third quarter of 2016. The quarter-over-quarter increase was primarily due to an increase in net loan servicing fees, driven by portfolio growth, including the full effect of recent bulk acquisitions, higher revenue related to early buyouts (EBOs) from Ginnie Mae securitizations and a reduction in valuation-related losses.

Net loan servicing fees totaled $78.1 million and included $153.8 million in servicing fees reduced by $65.8 million of amortization and realization of MSR cash flows. Amortization and realization of MSR cash flows increased 19 percent from the prior quarter, driven by a larger MSR asset and higher projected prepayment activity resulting from a decline in mortgage interest rates during the quarter. Valuation-related losses totaled $10 million, which includes MSR fair value losses and impairment for MSRs carried at the lower of amortized cost or fair value of $22.0 million, changes in fair value of the ESS liability resulting in a $4.8 million gain, and related hedging gains of $7.2 million. The MSR fair value declined due to a combination of yield curve flattening, tighter mortgage spreads and higher than expected prepayment activity during the quarter.

The following table presents a breakdown of net loan servicing fees:

Servicing segment revenue also included $28.2 million in net gains on mortgage loans held for sale from the securitization of reperforming government-insured and guaranteed loans, compared with $23.4 million in the prior quarter and $15.6 million in the third quarter of 2016. These loans were previously purchased out of Ginnie Mae securitizations as EBOs and brought back to performing status through PennyMac Financial's successful servicing efforts, primarily with the use of loan modifications. Net interest expense totaled $3.3 million, a 43 percent decline from the prior quarter and a 61 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2016. The quarter-over-quarter decline resulted from a $7.1 million increase in interest income, driven by higher placement fees on MSR-related escrow deposits and increased interest income from EBO loans. The increase in interest income was partially offset by a $4.6 million increase in interest expense driven by the second Ginnie Mae MSR term note issuance and higher interest shortfall from an increase in loan payoffs during the quarter.

Servicing segment expenses totaled $79.0 million, a 4 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 23 percent increase from the third quarter of 2016, driven by a larger portfolio and transitional expenses associated with the recent bulk MSR acquisitions and servicing transfers.

The total servicing portfolio reached $238.4 billion in UPB at September 30, 2017, an increase of 4 percent from the prior quarter end and 31 percent from a year earlier, primarily driven by our loan production activities, supplemented by bulk MSR acquisitions. Of the total servicing portfolio, prime servicing was $236.7 billion in UPB and special servicing was $1.7 billion in UPB. PennyMac Financial subservices and conducts special servicing for $71.2 billion in UPB, an increase of 6 percent from June 30, 2017. PennyMac Financial's owned MSR portfolio grew to $162.8 billion in UPB, an increase of 4 percent from the prior quarter end.

The table below details PennyMac Financial's servicing portfolio UPB:

Consistent with the Company's national, geographically diversified portfolio and the large populations of Texas, Florida and California, approximately 11 percent of the servicing portfolio (owned servicing and sub-servicing performed for PMT) is located in areas impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the recent California wildfires. The Company expects increased servicing costs over the next few quarters to address delinquencies among affected borrowers and incremental losses on defaulted government loans which may be offset by other income; the overall financial impact is expected to be modest.

Investment Management Segment

PennyMac Financial manages PMT and two private Investment Funds for which it earns base management fees and may earn incentive compensation. Net assets under management were $1.6 billion as of September 30, 2017, essentially unchanged from June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2016.

Pretax income for the Investment Management segment was $0.7 million, compared with $2.5 million in the prior quarter and $0.2 million in the third quarter of 2016. Management fees, which include base management fees from PMT and the private Investment Funds, as well as any earned incentive fees from PMT, increased 7 percent from the prior quarter and 20 percent from the third quarter of 2016. No incentive fee was paid by PMT during the quarter, compared to $0.3 million in incentive fees paid in the prior quarter.

The following table presents a breakdown of management fees and carried interest:

Investment Management segment expenses totaled $4.3 million, an 11 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 20 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2016. The quarter-over-quarter increase was driven by lower expense reimbursements from PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (PMT).

Consolidated Expenses

Total expenses for the second quarter were $156.5 million, a 9 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 3 percent increase from the third quarter of 2016. The quarter-over-quarter change was primarily driven by an increase to incentive compensation and higher technology costs.

Executive Chairman Stanford L. Kurland concluded, "We continue to make progress in pursuing long-term growth initiatives to ensure PennyMac Financial's success. This year we have made significant strides on a number of capital initiatives, including our term note issuance, which represents a paradigm shift in our access to capital that significantly enhances our growth potential; the sale of substantially all of the assets in the Investment Funds and the raising of substantial new capital for PMT; and the opportunity to buy back PFSI's common stock. As in our other mortgage banking businesses where we have developed significant technology solutions, we are now introducing our unique Broker POWER platform, enabling our entry into the broker direct channel and allowing us to access an additional 10 percent of the mortgage origination market. We believe all of these initiatives should contribute to our long-term success and help ensure that PennyMac Financial continues to be a leader in the dynamic and highly competitive U.S. mortgage market."

Management's slide presentation will be available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.ir.pennymacfinancial.com beginning at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) on Thursday, November 2, 2017.

About PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. is a specialty financial services firm with a comprehensive mortgage platform and integrated business focused on the production and servicing of U.S. mortgage loans and the management of investments related to the U.S. mortgage market. PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PFSI." Additional information about PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. is available at www.ir.pennymacfinancial.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding management's beliefs, estimates, projections and assumptions with respect to, among other things, the Company's financial results, future operations, business plans and investment strategies, as well as industry and market conditions, all of which are subject to change. Words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "promise," "plan," and other expressions or words of similar meanings, as well as future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may" are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results and operations for any future period may vary materially from those projected herein and from past results discussed herein. Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated include, but are not limited to: the continually changing federal, state and local laws and regulations applicable to the highly regulated industry in which we operate; lawsuits or governmental actions that may result from any noncompliance with the laws and regulations applicable to our businesses; the mortgage lending and servicing-related regulations promulgated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its enforcement of these regulations; our dependence on U.S. government-sponsored entities and changes in their current roles or their guarantees or guidelines; changes to government mortgage modification programs; the licensing and operational requirements of states and other jurisdictions applicable to the Company's businesses, to which our bank competitors are not subject; foreclosure delays and changes in foreclosure practices; certain banking regulations that may limit our business activities; our dependence on the multifamily and commercial real estate sectors for future originations of commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate related loans; changes in macroeconomic and U.S. real estate market conditions; difficulties inherent in growing loan production volume; difficulties inherent in adjusting the size of our operations to reflect changes in business levels; purchase opportunities for mortgage servicing rights and our success in winning bids; changes in prevailing interest rates; increases in loan delinquencies and defaults; our reliance on PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust PMT as a significant source of financing for, and revenue related to, our mortgage banking business; any required additional capital and liquidity to support business growth that may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all; our obligation to indemnify third-party purchasers or repurchase loans if loans that we originate, acquire, service or assist in the fulfillment of, fail to meet certain criteria or characteristics or under other circumstances; our obligation to indemnify PMT and the Investment Funds if its services fail to meet certain criteria or characteristics or under other circumstances; decreases in the returns on the assets that we select and manage for our clients, and our resulting management and incentive fees; the extensive amount of regulation applicable to our investment management segment; conflicts of interest in allocating our services and investment opportunities among us and our advised entities; the effect of public opinion on our reputation; our recent growth; our ability to effectively identify, manage, monitor and mitigate financial risks; our initiation of new business activities or expansion of existing business activities; our ability to detect misconduct and fraud; and our ability to mitigate cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider all of the uncertainties and risks described above, as well as those more fully discussed in reports and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or any other information contained herein, and the statements made in this press release are current as of the date of this release only.

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