MIs -- And Then There Were Five

Did anyone really think that PMI was going to survive as an ongoing entity in the mortgage insurance space? Probably not. In late October Arizona regulators took over the rest of the company and PMI's stock was halted on the NYSE. At present there are five MI companies left serving the nation's mortgage bankers: MGIC, Radian, UGI, Genworth, and Essent. Essent, a somewhat new firm partly owned by Goldman Sachs, is in the enviable position of having no legacy policies to deal with. If you're looking for a sure bet here's one: One day Goldman will take Essent public and maybe within the next year. I mean, why not? With PMI gone, there should be plenty of new business left for the rest of the sector. And we keep hearing talk that so called “outside capital” is dying to invest, but there is one major uncertainty affecting the market: the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.