American housing market shows first signs of rebounding benefiting insurers

To the benefit of many insurance companies, the housing market in the United States is beginning to show some signs of recovery as mortgage companies begin their reappearance. New home loan guarantor, NMI Holdings, has just announced its hiring of the FBR & Co. investment bank in order to help in the raising of $550 million following the collapse of three of its competitors that were taken down by record homeowner defaults. Only one out of those three competitors remains anywhere above credits at a junk grade. Equally, Essent Guaranty…

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U.S. mortgage insurance on the brink of collapse, changes for the housing market loom

The U.S. mortgage insurance market is on the cusp of a major revolution, but not for the better. The problems stem from the 2008 worldwide economic recession. The recession took a massive toll on the U.S. housing market, resulting in a crisis that persists to this day. Several insurance companies that specialized in mortgages floundered in the wake of the recession and those that survived now hold too much risk to continue writing policies. Insurers lost billions as a result of the housing crisis, losing much of the surplus capital…

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