TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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Th e M Rep o RT | 21 cover story probably the best we've ever un- derwritten, and the books from 2006 and 2007 are fading more into the background," he added. A lot of the problems of the past, Sinks explained, were due to the fact that MGIC insured some subprime (FICOs below 620) and Alt-A (low doc) loans. "The subprime and Alt-A space is some- thing we were not as familiar with as the traditional prime business. We have a core competency in the prime space, and now we intend to stay true to that vision." Today, MGIC has $164.9 billion primary insurance in force, cov- ering approximately one million mortgages as of Dec. 31, 2014. According to Radian CEO Ibrahim, a key factor in his company's recovery was in "be- ing the first one out of the gate in writing new business." He explained, "We called on some of the largest companies in the industry and convinced them and the GSEs that we had the lasting power and could make it. We had to accomplish this in a very challenging environment." Since 2007, Radian has doubled its private mortgage insurance market share and written more than $100 billion of high-quality new business. Future of the MI Industry A ccording to MCIG CEO Sinks, Congress is asking mortgage insurers to play a bigger role in the industry. "I have spent a lot of time in Washington, both as a representative of our company and of the industry," he said. "In a recent trip to the capitol, we were asked, 'Can you play a greater role?' The answer is that, 'Yes we can'." "Our industry has been recapitalized, and although three companies stopped writing business, three new companies appeared to take their place. This demonstrates to regulators that capital is interested in investing in the PMI space," he explained. "As the economy improves, that will only get better. We're in a great spot here." Radian former CFO Quint thinks that the future for MI companies looks bright. "The demographics for low down payment borrowers look good. There will be more participants and more from minority groups as this is a fast growing section of the population," he explained. "We're a bridge for those who do not have a big down payment, but can make mortgage payments of a certain amount and want to buy a home." In response to this demographic, Radian CEO Ibrahim said, "We've signed an agreement with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. We will create educational material to help them, because we want to be there to help borrowers purchase their first home." Genworth CEO Gupta agrees that the future looks good for private mortgage insurance. "I would say that the mortgage insurance industry is recovering very nicely. The industry has worked on each point of rebuilding itself, and now we've attracted close to $10 billion in new private capital in the industry since the crisis." As for the future of the MI Industry, Arch CEO Gansberg said he believes it will continue to thrive, as the industry restores the public's faith in its ability to meet its obligations. In the industry overall, he said, "We have fresh capital with the entry of three new companies. The existing four companies have also raised additional capital. I think we will continue to gain strength." Sandra Lane has extensive experience covering the mortgage and real estate industries. She has contributed regularly to the M Report, DS News, and its predecessor, REO Magazine from 2004 to 2006, covering local market trends, the effects of macroeconomic shifts on market conditions, and "big-picture" analyses of industry-driving indicators. But her understanding of the mortgage and real estate business extends even beyond those pre-crisis days. She is a former real estate broker and grew up in what she calls "a real estate family." A journalism graduate of the University of North Texas, she has written articles for various newspapers and trade journals, as well as company communications for several major corporations. We felt that one of best ways to deal with the downturn was to write as much high-quality business as we could. We wrote more than anyone else. That has been the biggest factor in helping us change our portfolio from legacy business to new business. —s.A. IbrAhIm, CEO, Radian Group