Deal Could Put CFC on Top.(Servicing market share)(Cendant Mortgage Corp.)

If Countrywide Home Loans winds up buying Cendant Mortgage, it would once again become the top dog of mortgage servicing. Then again, the jury is still out on whether Countrywide will bite the bullet.

As Mortgage Servicing News went to press this month, the sale of the Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Cendant Mortgage Corp. was still pending.

Industry officials familiar with CMC confirmed that Countrywide is back at the negotiating table after ending talks with Cendant's parent this past spring.

Investment bankers have identified two other potential bidders for CMC - Citigroup and GE Consumer Finance.

However, some are now saying a Citigroup purchase is problematic because Citi owns investment banker Salomon Smith Barney which competes directly with Merrill Lynch, one of Cendant Mortgage Corp.'s largest "private label" clients.

Other current and past private label clients of CMC include Mellon Bank, Hudson United, Provident Bank and USAA Federal Savings Bank.

CMC is believed to be the largest private label funder and servicer in the U.S.