Citi plans to exit mortgage servicing by end of 2018

Washington

CITIGROUP plans to exit the mortgage-servicing business by the end of 2018 to focus on making new loans.

New Residential Investment Corp agreed to pay Citigroup US$950 million for servicing rights on Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans with US$97 billion of outstanding balances, the New York-based buyer said on Monday in a statement. Citigroup also reached a deal with Cenlar FSB to service its remaining mortgages, and plans to transfer the rights for those loans beginning in 2018, the bank said in a separate statement.