“We welcome the Government's recognition of the role that mortgage indemnity insurance can play in mitigating risk and helping credit-worthy first time buyers to access mortgages without a large deposit. However, the Government could minimise the risk to the taxpayer, by sharing risk with specialist insurers. This would protect the taxpayer, and help Government money go further.
There is a role for Government in taking on mortgage risk in extreme circumstances, as is the case in other countries. This role should be standing behind other parties, including risk sharing insurance, as was recently recommended by the CBI. Understanding mortgage risk will be vital to get this initiative right, and private sector insurance, which is developed to understand and manage that mortgage risk should be an integral part of the solution"
“Genworth is a global insurer specialising in mortgage risk, and we have built up extensive experience of understanding and managing mortgage risk and insurance – in a highly regulated environment. This is experience and expertise that the Government will need now that they envisage taking a role in this area. We would like to better understand how the Government intends to maximise existing private sector expertise and capacity - and minimise the risk to taxpayers by making use of the 'risk sharing' insurance industry.”
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.
