WALTER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORP TAMPA, Fla., March 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Walter Investment Management Corp. (NYSE: WAC) ("Walter Investment" or the "Company") announced today that Daniel G. Beltzman, co-founder of Birch Run Capital Advisors, LP ("Birch Run"), has been appointed Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board"). Mr. Beltzman joined the Board in December 2015. The Company's current Chairman, Mark J. O'Brien will continue to serve on the Board as a director.
"Daniel, in his short tenure, has already had a positive influence on our current strategic initiatives and direction and we believe as Chairman his leadership will be critical to our achieving our goal of becoming the partner of choice for homeowners, regulators and other stakeholders," said Denmar J. Dixon, Walter Investment's Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.
The Company also announced that David C. Schneider, Executive Vice President of Walter Investment and President of Ditech Financial LLC has been appointed Chief Operating Officer for the Company effective immediately. Mr. Schneider will continue to report to Denmar J. Dixon.
"David has been a key contributor to the organization since joining in 2013. His deep background in the mortgage sector, intricate knowledge of operations and his leadership experience make him the right person to lead our operations as we execute on our strategic transformation," said Mr. Dixon.
About Daniel G. Beltzman
Mr. Beltzman co-founded Birch Run Capital Advisors, an investment advisor headquartered in New York City, in 2006. Birch Run focuses on value-based opportunities in public or private equity or debt securities and looks to stand behind management teams and boards in their efforts to build great businesses and drive long-term shareholder value. In his current role, Mr. Beltzman oversees the investment portfolio, including formulating investment strategy and generating new investment ideas. Mr. Beltzman currently serves on the Board of Directors of Regis Corporation. Mr. Beltzman holds a B.B.A and M.Acc. from the University of Michigan.
About David C. Schneider
Mr. Schneider has served as Executive Vice President of the Company since October 2014 and as President, Ditech Financial LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, since February 2016 responsible for all operations and strategic oversight of the Company's mortgage business. Mr. Schneider joined the Company in October 2013, as Executive Vice President, Business Development for Green Tree Servicing LLC ("Green Tree"). During Mr. Schneider's 25-year career, he has held multiple executive leadership positions in mortgage lending, consumer lending, retail banking and corporate finance business including President and Chief Operating Officer of Citigroup Mortgage, Chief Financial Officer of the Consumer Assets Division of Citigroup, President of Washington Mutual Home Loans, and Head of Servicing and Default at JP Morgan Chase Mortgage. Mr. Schneider earned an MBA in Finance from Indiana University and a BSBA in Accounting from Babson College.
About Walter Investment Management Corp.
Walter Investment Management Corp. is a diversified mortgage banking firm focused primarily on the servicing and origination of residential loans, including reverse loans. Based in Tampa, Fla., the Company has approximately 5,900 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. The information on our website is not a part of this release.
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 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 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," "targets," or other similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, and 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 under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and in 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:
-- our ability to operate our business in compliance with existing and
future rules and regulations affecting our business, including those
relating to the origination and servicing of residential loans, the
management of third-party assets and the insurance industry (including
lender-placed insurance), and changes to, and/or more stringent
enforcement of, such rules and regulations;
-- increased scrutiny and potential enforcement actions by federal and
state authorities;
-- 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 consumer redress, fines, penalties or similar
payments we make in connection with resolving such matters;
-- uncertainties relating to interest curtailment obligations and any
related financial and litigation exposure (including exposure relating
to false claims);potential costs and uncertainties, including the effect
on future revenues, associated with and arising from litigation,
regulatory investigations and other legal proceedings; our dependence on
U.S. government-sponsored entities (especially Fannie Mae) and agencies
and their residential loan programs and our ability to maintain
relationships with, and remain qualified to participate in programs
sponsored by, such entities, our ability to satisfy various existing or
future GSE, agency and other capital, net worth, liquidity and other
financial requirements applicable to our business, and 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 residential loan and selling and servicing guides;
-- uncertainties relating to the status and future role of GSEs, and the
effects of any changes to the origination and/or servicing requirements
of the GSEs or various regulatory authorities or the servicing
compensation structure for mortgage servicers pursuant to programs of
GSEs or various regulatory authorities;
-- our ability to maintain our loan servicing, loan origination, insurance
agency or collection agency licenses, or any other licenses necessary to
operate our businesses, or changes to, or our ability to comply with,
our licensing requirements;
-- our ability to comply with the servicing standards required by the
National Mortgage Settlement;
-- our ability to comply with the terms of the stipulated order resolving
allegations arising from an FTC and CFPB investigation of Ditech
Financial;
-- operational risks inherent in the mortgage servicing and mortgage
originations businesses, including reputational risk;
-- risks related to our substantial levels of indebtedness, including our
ability to comply with covenants contained in our debt agreements,
generate sufficient cash to service such indebtedness and refinance such
indebtedness on favorable terms, as well as our ability to incur
substantially more debt;
-- our ability to renew advance financing facilities or warehouse
facilities and maintain borrowing capacity under such facilities;
-- our ability to maintain or grow our servicing business and our
residential loan originations business;
-- our ability to achieve our strategic initiatives, particularly our
ability to: execute and complete balance sheet management activities;
complete the sale of our insurance business; make arrangements with
potential capital partners; complete sales of assets to, and enter into
other arrangements with, WCO; increase the mix of our fee-for-service
business; reduce our debt; and develop new business, including
acquisitions of MSRs or entering into new subservicing arrangements;
-- changes in prepayment rates and delinquency rates on the loans we
service or sub-service;
-- the ability of our clients and credit owners to transfer or otherwise
terminate our servicing or sub-servicing rights;
-- a downgrade of, or other adverse change relating to, our servicer
ratings or credit ratings;
-- our ability to collect reimbursements for servicing advances and earn
and timely receive incentive payments and ancillary fees on our
servicing portfolio;
-- our ability to collect indemnification payments and enforce repurchase
obligations relating to mortgage loans we purchase from our
correspondent clients and our ability to collect in a timely manner
indemnification payments relating to servicing rights we purchase from
prior servicers;
-- 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, including the volume and pricing
of home sales and uncertainty regarding the levels of mortgage
originations and prepayments;
-- uncertainty as to the volume of originations activity we will benefit
from prior to, and following, the expiration of HARP, which is scheduled
to occur on December 31, 2016, including uncertainty as to the number of
"in-the-money" accounts we may be able to refinance;
-- risks associated with the origination, securitization and servicing of
reverse mortgages, including changes to reverse mortgage programs
operated by FHA, HUD or Ginnie Mae, our ability to accurately estimate
interest curtailment liabilities, continued demand for HECM loans and
other reverse mortgages, our ability to fund HECM repurchase
obligations, our ability to fund principal additions on our HECM loans,
and our ability to securitize our HECM loans and tails;
-- our ability to realize all anticipated benefits of past, pending or
potential future acquisitions or joint venture investments;
-- 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;
-- changes in interest rates and the effectiveness of any hedge we may
employ against such changes;
-- risks and potential costs associated with technology and cybersecurity,
including: the risks of technology failures and of cyber-attacks against
us or our vendors; our ability to adequately respond to actual or
alleged cyber-attacks; and our ability to implement adequate internal
security measures and protect confidential borrower information;
-- risks and potential costs associated with the implementation of new
technology such as MSP, the use of new vendors or the transfer of our
servers or other infrastructure to new data center facilities;
-- our ability to comply with evolving and complex accounting rules, many
of which involve significant judgment and assumptions;
-- uncertainties regarding impairment charges relating to our goodwill or
other intangible assets;
-- our ability to maintain effective internal controls over financial
reporting and disclosure controls and procedures;
-- our ability to manage conflicts of interest relating to our investment
in WCO and maintain our relationship with WCO; and
-- risks related to our relationship with Walter Energy and uncertainties
arising from or relating to its bankruptcy filings, including potential
liability for any taxes, interest and/or penalties owed by the Walter
Energy consolidated group for the full or partial tax years during which
certain of the Company's former subsidiaries were a part of such
consolidated group and certain other tax risks allocated to us in
connection with our spin-off from Walter Energy.
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.
Amounts or metrics that relate to future earnings projections are forward-looking and subject to significant business, economic, regulatory and competitive uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of us and our management, and are based upon assumptions with respect to future decisions, which are subject to change. Actual results will vary and those variations may be material. Nothing in this release should be regarded as a representation by any person that any target will be achieved and we undertake no duty to update any target. Please refer to the disclosures in this press release, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and our other filings with the SEC for important information regarding forward-looking statements and the use and limitations of non-GAAP financial measures. Because we do not predict special items that might occur in the future, and our outlook is developed at a level of detail different than that used to prepare GAAP financial measures, we are not providing a reconciliation to GAAP of any forward-looking financial measures presented herein.
In addition, this press release may contain statements of opinion or belief concerning market conditions and similar matters. In certain instances, those opinions and beliefs could be based upon general observations by members of our management, anecdotal evidence and/or our experience in the conduct of our business, without specific investigation or statistical analyses. Therefore, while such statements reflect our view of the industries and markets in which we are involved, they should not be viewed as reflecting verifiable views and such views may not be shared by all who are involved in those industries or markets.
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SOURCE Walter Investment Management Corp.
