Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) reportedly wants to sell its Litton Loan Servicing unit--to which we respond, it's about time. We've suggested before that buyer's remorse had long since set in. The company has little to gain from owning a firm that has carried heightened reputational risks for well over two years. Goldman bought the company in 2007.

Litton has about 23,000 foreclosure in abeyance right now. That could generate some putback issues down the line, but not enough to really matter. There's also a coming settlement with state and federal officials, but again, that likely does not represent a massive financial risk to Goldman.

I still never understood the deal. The company was always relatively small and riven with sub-prime-type loans. Did Goldman at one point have dreams of turning Litton into an industry leader?

My sense is that Litton has been on the block for quite a while. But few buyers are likely to emerge until the foreclosure fiasco starts to clear and the regulatory issues are out of the way. The bank might be thinking of a more aggressive wind down, in which it sells off the loans and basically shutters operations.

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