WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 2, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Global Servicing Solutions Canada Corp. (GSS Canada), a subsidiary of Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN), has been appointed as the Master and Special Servicer for Merrill Lynch Financial Assets Inc. (Issuer) Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-Canada 19 CMBS securitization. The transaction will add in excess of CDN$584 million of unpaid principal balance in Master Servicing and CDN$424 million of unpaid principal balance of Primary Servicing to the company's servicing portfolio. GSS Canada's existing commercial mortgage servicing portfolio is already in excess of CDN$1 billion, and the Master Servicing Contract will significantly expand the company's presence in Canada.
GSS Canada began providing third-party commercial mortgage loan servicing to the Canadian marketplace in October 2004 and presently services conventional loans, interim loans and CMBS primary loans. GSS Canada does not originate mortgage loans, but has chosen to develop the company by focusing on providing servicing excellence to lender and investor clients.
GSS Canada now services a mortgage portfolio in excess of CDN$1.6 billion on behalf of life insurance, pension fund, master servicer and commercial conduit clients. The company has been on Standard & Poor's select servicer list as a "rated" Primary, Master and Special Servicer since January 2005.
"We are very excited about GSS Canada entering the Commercial Master Servicing arena. Ocwen currently services approximately $47.1 billion of upaid principal balance of residential loans and this deal marks an important milestone toward Ocwen's desire to expand its commercial servicing platform in Canada, the United States and Germany," said William B. Shepro, President of GSS and Senior Vice President of Ocwen Financial Corporation.
About GSS:
GSS Canada is headquartered in Toronto. Global Servicing Solutions LLC (GSS) is a servicing and asset management joint venture formed in 2002 between Ocwen Financial Corporation (Ocwen) and ML IBK Positions Inc., of which Ocwen is the managing partner. GSS has offices in Canada, Germany and India, providing third-party servicing of commercial and residential performing and nonperforming loans and real estate. Additional information is available at www.globalservicingsolutions.com.
About Ocwen:
Ocwen Financial Corporation is a leading provider of servicing and origination processing solutions to the loan industry with headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, offices in Orlando, Florida, Downers Grove, Illinois and Atlanta, Georgia and global operations in Canada, Germany, India and Taiwan. We make our clients' loans worth more by leveraging our superior processes, innovative technology and high-quality, cost-effective global human resources. Additional information is available at www.ocwen.com.