Private Mortgage Insurers Are Likely To Be Impacted By Freddie’s New Mortgage Insurance Initiative

Earlier this week, shares of private mortgage insurers crashed after reports emerged that Freddie Mac had launched a new pilot program involving a deal structure that would work in place of lender-paid single-premium mortgage insurance. According to the government mortgage agency, the new structure will be called IMAGIN, which stands for “Integrated Mortgage Insurance.” Under the new proposed structure, lenders would bypass lender-paid single-premium mortgage insurance by opting into to a special purpose vehicle controlled by Freddy. Arch Capital will serve as a conduit for the mortgage credit risk that would then be passed along to a panel of insurers…