Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Derek Sommers : Got it. Thank you. That’s all for me.

Glen Messina : Great. Thanks, Derek.

Operator: Our next question today will come from Howard Amster with Ramat Securities.

Howard Amster: Hi, Glen. Just wondered why the employee costs went up like $28 million for the quarter and also from the previous year?

Glen Messina : And Howard, good morning, by the way. Thank you for your question. It’s great to hear from you.

Sean O’Neil : Good morning, Howard. So our staffing was flat quarter-over-quarter. We did pay higher incentive comp in some of the businesses like correspondent and CD, given the much higher volumes we experienced in some of those channels. So that was the primary driver of that, as well as merit raises came through, which during a period of high inflation, that’s one of the things we have to do to make sure we’re taking care of our employees to grant merit. So confident Fannie went up, staffing stayed low.

Howard Amster: I see. Was any of that due to severance? I mean, $28 million on a $56 million base seemed really high, just maybe above like merit increases.

Glen Messina : I’m looking at the three months ended page 21 of our appendix. three months ended June 22, comp and [indiscernible] was $84 million. Three months ended June 30th, 2023 was $58 million. So I’m seeing a reduction and, it looks like it’s relatively flat to the first quarter as well. Sean, am I reading it right? I maybe I misunderstood.

Sean O’Neil : Yes, Howard you may be looking at the June 30, it starts June 30, 2022, and then it jumps end of Q1 to end of Q2 and Q1 to Q2 on page 21 is flat at 58.

Howard Amster: Got you. Okay, I must have read it wrong. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Glen Messina : No worries, sir. All good. Yes.

Sean O’Neil : Okay, good.

Operator: And this concludes our question-and-answer session. I’d like to turn the call back to Glenn Messina for any additional or closing remarks.

Glen Messina : Thank you, Jen. Look, I’d like to thank our shareholders and key business partners for their unyielding support of our business. And I’d also like to thank and recognize our Board of Directors and global business team for their continued hard work and commitment to our business. I’m excited about the results we delivered for the quarter and I look forward to updating you on our progress at our next earnings call. Thank you.

Operator: And this concludes today’s conference. Thank you all for attending. Have a pleasant day.