FHFA-OIG Says MIs More Stable, Warrants Continued Monitoring
March 2, 2018
With three mortgage insurers providing about two-thirds of the mortgage insurance coverage to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General warned of potential risk down the road. Meanwhile, mortgage insurers seek to confirm their place in housing-finance reform discussions. Although mortgage insurers are more stable today, emerging trends point to a number of potential risks to the GSEs that warrant monitoring. One of the OIG’s concerns is that relying on a small number of counterparties increases the GSEs’ exposure to any individual counterparty. The report noted that although six PMIs are approved to provide coverage for the GSEs as of the end of September 2017, three insurers provided the bulk of their coverage.