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Angel Mas, president of Genworth’s European Mortgage Insurance business commented: “Ahead of the Building Societies Association (BSA) conference, ‘Delivering Mortgage Policy’ on 20th October, Genworth is pleased to see the recognition of mortgage insurance (MI) on the agenda as part of the government’s housing policy. Following the meeting convened by Grant Shapps at the beginning of this year, we are encouraged to see that insurance on high loan-to-value mortgages is now being seen as part of an overall solution to the current challenges faced by first time buyers. This year we have finally seen some encouraging moves towards an insurance solution as a means of mitigating lenders’ risk on loans.
“There is a growing working relationship between the insurance industry and building societies. FSA guidance on the use of mortgage insurance for a section of the industry in 2010, and Genworth’s partnership with Mutual One earlier this year has made MI more accessible to a wider range of building societies. However, we still need to see clear regulatory incentives for lenders who use mortgage insurance to ensure that there is a prudent approach to HLTV mortgages. Regulators across Europe are currently moving forward to set predictable benefits that lenders will receive for adding this protection to their loans, so we are keen to see an organized and well thought through set of incentives put in place in the UK.
”The role of mortgage insurance in helping to solve the first time buyer crisis is something Genworth has long campaigned for. We look forward to hearing what Grant Shapps envisages for mortgage insurance at a policy level, and will watch other developments with interest.”
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 insurance holding company with more than $100 billion in assets that is dedicated to helping people secure their financial lives, families and futures. Genworth has leadership positions in offerings that assist consumers in protecting themselves, investing for the future and planning for retirement -- including life insurance, long term care insurance, financial protection coverages, and independent advisor-based wealth management -- and mortgage insurance that helps consumers achieve homeownership while assisting lenders in managing their risk and capital.
Genworth has approximately 6,500 employees and operates through three segments: Retirement and Protection, U.S. Mortgage Insurance and International. Its products and services are offered through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sales specialists. Genworth Financial, which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, visit Genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth releases important information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors" section of Genworth.com.
