JPMorgan Said to Buy $45 Billion of Ocwen’s Servicing Rights

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest servicer of U.S. mortgages, is buying the right to handle $45 billion of home loans from Ocwen Financial Corp., according to a person familiar with the transaction.

Ocwen said March 2 that it had signed a letter of intent to sell a rights portfolio of that size to a firm it didn’t identify. The 277,000 underlying debts are performing loans owned by Fannie Mae, and Ocwen said it expects to complete the transaction by mid-year and hand off the servicing during the second half. JPMorgan is the buyer, according to the person, who asked for anonymity to discuss private talks.