Tampa's Walter Investment Management continues binge of mortgage deals

Tampa-based mortgage finance firm Walter Investment Management continued its acquisition binge of mortgages Monday with two major deals. The firm said it agreed to buy about $93 billion of Fannie Mae-backed residential servicing assets, consisting of more than 650,000 loans with unpaid balances, from Bank of America for $519 million. Separately, Walter said it will buy the residential mortgage servicing platform, including certain servicing related technology assets of MetLife Inc., for an undisclosed amount. Walter Investment shares, already coming off a strong 2012 performance, rose 8.24 percent Monday and closed at $47.68. The deals follow Walter's $31 million purchase last week of a San Diego-based lender specializing in reverse mortgages.