Acquisition Creates New Biggest Mortgage Insurer

Jan. 03--The recent closing of an acquisition by Arch Capital Group Inc. has created a new behemoth among the nation's mortgage insurance companies.

The Hamilton, Bermuda-based firm previously reported Arch Mortgage Insurance Co. wrote $8.8 billion in new insurance during the third quarter.

That was more than double the level of business generated by the Walnut Creek, California-based mortgage insurance company a year earlier.

But that still didn't make Arch M.I. the biggest U.S. mortgage insurer.

That distinction belongs to United Guaranty Corp.

However, the Dec. 31 closing of Arch Capital Group's acquisition of United Guaranty from American International Group Inc. leaves Arch M.I. as the new biggest mortgage insurance company.

"The acquisition of UGC expands the scale of Arch's existing mortgage insurance businesses by combining UGC's position as the market leader in the U.S. private mortgage insurance industry with Arch's financial strength and history of innovation, further diversifying our business profile and customer base," Arch said in a news release Tuesday. "The expansion of our mortgage insurance business complements our strengths in the specialty insurance and reinsurance businesses, which continue to be central to our global operations."

The president and chief executive officer of Arch U.S. MI Holdings is David Gansberg.

Arch Capital Group Chairman and CEO Constantine Iordanou noted in a previous announcement that the company expects to quickly integrate Arch's existing Walnut Creek mortgage insurance operations and the Greensboro, North Carolina-based operations of United Guaranty while maintaining a strong presence in both locations.

A news release from AIG indicated that United Guaranty had $186.4 billion of first-lien primary mortgage insurance in force as of Sept. 30, 2016. Active relationships stand at nearly 1,700 customers, while there are approximately 1,000 employees on staff including around 100 sales professionals.

There was no word in either release about the fate of Donnalee Demaio, who had served as United Guaranty's CEO and chairman since January 2013. Her LinkedIn profile still shows her as CEO and chairman of the former AIG unit.

"With this transaction, AIG has taken another step in simplifying our organization to become a leaner, more focused insurance company committed to our vision of being our clients' most valued insurer," AIG President and CEO Peter D. Hancock said in the statement. "We believe UGC and the outstanding professionals who work there have gained a strong partner in Arch to continue to grow and facilitate home ownership for consumers and provide valuable and necessary protection to mortgage lenders."

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