New MI Jumps in May

Private mortgage insurance companies wrote $35.4 billion of new policies in May, up 14.6% from April's $30.9 billion, according to data collected by the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America.Of that total, $29.3 billion came from the traditional channel and $6.1 billion from the bulk channel. According to a Citigroup Smith Barney report on the industry, persistency remains a problem, falling to a record low 49.2% in May. Another issue is growing defaults. The cure/default ratio fell from 104.0% in April to 81.3% in May. "While this seems like a dramatic drop, it is consistent with the seasonal pattern observed over the last several years," said Citi analyst Matthew L. Vetto, the author of the report. In 2002, the ratio fell from 100% in April to 96% in May; in 2001, from 100% to 85%; and in 2000, from 103% to 75%. MICA can be found on the Web at www.micadc.org.