Triad Reduces Losses as MI Run Off Remains Slow

Triad Guaranty Inc. - which is in the process of liquidating - reported a fourth-quarter loss of $79.1 million, a 35% improvement from the same period a year earlier. The Winston-Salem, N.C., mortgage insurer had a net loss of $595.6 million for the full year, compared to a net loss of $631.1 million for 2008. The MI's book of business is in "run-off" status. Ken Jones, president and chief executive, said, "First-time defaults, while down moderately from earlier 2009 quarters, continued at a high volume. We have seen very little permanent impact to date from the existing loan modification programs and, consequently, the cure rates on existing defaults remain at historic lows and have shown little sign of improvement." Its total insurance-in-force declined to $50.5 billion at Dec. 31, 2009, a 7.5% drop from Sept. 30, 2009 and a 19.3% decline from Dec. 31, 2008.