CWCapital buys $2.6B in multifamily MSRs from Citi

CWCapital, which lends to the multifamily real estate industry, bought $2.6 billion in mortgage servicing rights from Citigroup (C). The acquired portfolio contains 2,200 Fannie Mae multifamily mortgages with an average unpaid principal balance of $1.2 million per loan. The CW Small Loan Servicing Group portfolio, which is headquartered in Needham, Mass., now stands at $16 billion. “We have a highly proficient staff committed to providing best in class service and I am confident our expertise in loan servicing will provide a smooth transition for the borrowers,” said CW Capital CEO Michael Berman. In the first quarter of 2012, CW will launch a small origination team located in its Irvine, Calif. office. It will focus on West Coast markets initially. Citi released a statement Thursday saying the move is consistent with its efforts to wind down its Citi Holdings portfolio. In the third quarter, Citi reduced the portfolio to $289 billion, a 31% decrease from last year. Write to Jon Prior. Follow him on Twitter @JonAPrior.