BofA Sells Pool of Servicing Rights to Fannie Mae

Bank of America has sold the servicing rights of 400,000 home loans to Fannie Mae, according to the ""_Wall Street Journal._"":http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904007304576498793010276516.html
[IMAGE] According to the _Journal,_ the unpaid principal balance on the loans is $73 billion. The loans were sold at a price of $500 million.

While BofA would not confirm the specifics of the sale or the purchaser, a spokesperson for the bank told DSnews.com, “Our MSR sales and transfer strategies directly support company goals to focus our resources on customers who have deep relationships with the bank, to divest certain non-strategic assets, and to continue to improve the company’s capital position by reducing holdings of capital-intensive assets.”

He continued: “This activity is consistent with steps that Bank of America is taking to address legacy mortgage issues and better position the enterprise for growth.”

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BofA’s CEO Brian Moynihan referenced the sale of mortgage servicing rights in a ""CNBC interview"":http://www.cnbc.com/id/44032959 Tuesday.

Moynihan did not name the purchaser in the interview.

He did tell CNBC that BofA is working to resolve issues with mortgage loans.

“We have to keep moving the mortgage mess behind us getting through the pile of mortgages that have to be dealt with in terms of defaulted customers and modifying everyone we can,” he commented.

The _Wall Street Journal_ reported that the deal with Fannie Mae was finalized Friday and the loans will be transferred to Fannie Mae over a four-month period, starting with 100,000 loans in September.

""Fannie Mae does not directly service loans but has a history of facilitating transfers of portfolios to high touch servicers in an effort to mitigate credit losses,"" Fannie Mae stated in response to the purchase from BofA.

BofA is likely to unload more loans in the near future.

“Additional MSR sale and transfer transactions are expected to occur over the next year or so as the company continues to address legacy mortgage issues,” said the BofA spokesperson.

“Bank of America continues to be committed to providing industry-leading service to our more than 12 million first mortgage and home equity customers,” he concluded.