v3.25.1
Other Financing Liabilities, at Fair Value
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2025
Transfers and Servicing [Abstract]  
Other Financing Liabilities, at Fair Value
Note 8 — Other Financing Liabilities, at Fair Value
The following table presents financing liabilities carried at fair value which include pledged MSR liabilities recorded in connection with MSR transfers, subservicing retained, that do not qualify for sale accounting, liabilities of consolidated mortgage-backed securitization trusts and MSR excess servicing spread (ESS) financing liability carried at fair value (see Note 13 – Borrowings for ESS financing liability carried at amortized cost).
Outstanding Balance
Borrowing TypeCollateralMaturityMarch 31, 2025December 31, 2024
MSR transfers not qualifying for sale accounting (1):
Pledged MSR liability, at fair value - MAV MSRs(1)$317.2 $322.7 
Rights to MSRs Agreements, at fair value - Rithm
MSRs (1)112.2 115.1 
Pledged MSR liability, at fair value - Others MSRs(1)149.7 145.8 
Total Pledged MSR liability, at fair value
579.1 583.5 
ESS financing liability, at fair value (2)
MSRs
(2)
256.4 263.3 
Total Other financing liabilities, at fair value$835.5 $846.9 
(1)MSRs transferred in transactions which do not qualify for sale accounting treatment. Until such time as the transaction qualifies as a sale for accounting purposes, we continue to recognize the MSRs and the related financing liability (referred as Pledged MSR liability) on our consolidated balance sheets, as well as the full amount of servicing fee collected as revenue and the servicing fee remitted as Pledged MSR liability expense in our consolidated statements of operations. The fair value of the Pledged MSR liability may differ from the fair value of the associated transferred MSR asset mostly due to the portion of ancillary income that is contractually retained by PHH or other contractual cash flows.
(2)Consists of the obligation to remit to third parties a specified percentage of future servicing fee collections (servicing spread) on reference pools of MSRs, which we are entitled to as owner of the related MSRs. The servicing spread remittance is reported in Pledged MSR liability expense and fair value gains and losses of the ESS financing liability are reported in MSR valuation adjustment, net - See Note 9 – MSR Valuation Adjustments, Net.
The following table presents the activity of the Other financing liabilities, at fair value that are classified as Level 3 within the valuation hierarchy.
Three Months Ended March 31,
Pledged MSR liability and ESS financing liability
20252024
Beginning balance
$846.9 $894.4 
MSR transfers
MSR transfers to MAV— 0.2 
MSR transfers to Rithm and others
6.7 6.8 
Total MSR transfers6.7 7.0 
Derecognition of financing liability
— — 
Fair value (gain) loss
Changes in fair value due to inputs and assumptions (1.0)19.8 
Realization of expected cash flows(17.0)(19.9)
Total fair value (gain) loss(18.0)(0.1)
Ending balance
$835.5 $901.3 
The following table presents the Pledged MSR liability expense recorded in connection with the MSR sale agreements with MAV, Rithm, and others that do not qualify for sale accounting, including the ESS financing liabilities.
Three Months Ended March 31,
20252024
Rithm and OthersMAVTotal
Rithm and Others
MAVTotal
Servicing fees collected on behalf of MAV, Rithm and others$18.9 $13.5 $32.4 $18.6 $18.0 $36.6 
Less: Subservicing fee retained by Onity
(4.0)(1.9)(5.9)(4.6)(2.5)(7.1)
Ancillary fee/income and other settlement (including expense reimbursement)2.4 (0.1)2.3 2.4 (0.1)2.3 
Transferred MSR net servicing fee remittance$17.3 $11.5 28.8 $16.5 $15.3 31.8 
ESS servicing spread remittance13.1 13.1 
Pledged MSR liability expense$41.9 $44.9 
MAV (Related Party) Transactions
PHH entered into agreements to sell MSR portfolios to its related party MAV, on a bulk and flow basis, for which PHH has been retained as subservicer. While MSR legal title has transferred to MAV, the transactions do not qualify for sale accounting treatment primarily due to the termination restrictions of the subservicing agreement. See Note 11 - Investment in Equity Method Investee and Related Party Transactions. Accordingly, we continue to report the MSR and an associated Pledged MSR liability on our consolidated balance sheet.
Rithm Transactions
Starting in 2012, Onity and PHH entered into agreements to sell MSRs and the related servicing advances to Rithm, for which PHH has been retained as subservicer. As of March 31, 2025, all transactions met sale accounting treatment except for the agreement to sell a $8.9 billion MSR portfolio to Rithm, referred to as Rights to MSRs (or RMSR). While most of the economics and risks of the MSR and related advances have contractually transferred to Rithm, the MSR legal title was retained by Onity and the third-party consents required for title transfer were not obtained, causing the transactions to be accounted for as secured financings. Accordingly, we continue to report the $112.2 million MSR and an associated Pledged MSR liability on our consolidated balance sheet (the remaining is treated as subservicing).
The RMSR agreement and subservicing agreements are subject to automatic one-year renewals, unless Onity provides seven months’ advance notice of termination, or Rithm provides three months’ advance notice of termination. In November 2024, Onity and Rithm agreed to extend the subservicing agreements through February 1, 2026 with subsequent, automatic one-year renewals if notice of termination is not provided by July 1, 2025 by Onity or November 1, 2025 by Rithm.
If Rithm exercises its termination right of the $8.9 billion RMSR agreement, Rithm has the option of seeking (i) the transfer of the MSRs through a sale to a third party of its Rights to MSRs (together with a transfer of Onity’s title to those MSRs) or (ii) a substitute RMSR arrangement that substantially replicates the Rights to MSRs structure under which we would transfer title to the MSRs to a successor servicer and Rithm would continue to own the economic rights and obligations related to the MSRs. In the case of option (i), we have a purchase option as specified in the RMSR Agreements. If Rithm is not able to sell the Rights to MSRs or establish a substitute RMSR arrangement with another servicer, Rithm has the right to revoke its termination notice and re-instate the applicable servicing addendum or to establish a subservicing arrangement whereby the MSRs remaining subject to the RMSR Agreements would be transferred to up to three subservicers who would subservice under Onity’s oversight. If such a subservicing arrangement were established, Onity would receive an oversight fee and reimbursement of expenses. We may also agree on alternative arrangements that are not contemplated under our existing agreements or that are variations of those contemplated under our existing agreements.
Other MSR Capital Partner Transactions
PHH entered into agreements to sell MSR portfolios to different unrelated third parties, referred to as MSR capital partners, on a bulk and flow basis, for which PHH has been retained as subservicer. While MSR legal title has transferred to the MSR capital partners, the transactions do not qualify for sale accounting treatment primarily due to the termination restrictions of the subservicing agreements. Accordingly, we continue to report the MSR and an associated Pledged MSR liability on our consolidated balance sheet.