FHFA clears Rocket’s $9.4B acquisition of Mr. Cooper, with safeguards

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Tuesday it has allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve Rocket Companies’ planned acquisition of Mr. Cooper Group, noting the combined company should not exceed a 20% counterparty risk limit set for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).

Detroit-based Rocket announced in March that it would acquire Mr. Cooper — the nation’s largest mortgage servicer — in an all-stock deal valued at $9.4 billion. At the same time, Rocket was also pursuing a $1.75 billion acquisition of real estate brokerage and home search platform Redfin.

FHFA staff reviewed the merger of “two of the Enterprises’ largest individual seller-servicer counterparties” and recommended that Fannie and Freddie each maintain strict 20% concentration caps, along with other financial and operational safeguards to protect the GSEs and the broader housing market.

“No market participant should have greater than 20% of Fannie or Freddie’s servicing market in order to ensure the safety and soundness of the mortgage market and the overall economy,” the statement reads. 

The deal would give Rocket a $2.1 trillion servicing portfolio across nearly 10 million customers — roughly one in six U.S. mortgages. As of the second quarter of 2025, Mr. Cooper’s $1.5 trillion servicing book represented 10.4% of the top 25 largest servicers, while Rocket’s $616.7 billion portfolio accounted for 4.25%, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. 

Rocket is also the nation’s third-largest mortgage lender, with $46.8 billion in originations in the first half of 2025 (5.5% market share). Mr. Cooper ranked 10th with $17.7 billion in volume and a 2.1% share.

Financially, Rocket swung to a $34 million profit in Q2, compared with a $212 million loss in the prior quarter. Executives reiterated on an earnings call that the company expects to close the Mr. Cooper deal in Q4 2025, highlighting the expanded servicing portfolio as key to Rocket’s customer recapture strategy.

Brian Brown, Rocket’s chief financial officer, told analysts that Rocket remains “active,” particularly for assets with “high recapture potential.”