Despite a dip in new business at Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corp., income improved, the book of business grew and delinquency declined.
New insurance written during the period from Jan. 1, 2016, through March 31 amounted to $7.400 billion.
That was modestly lower than in the previous three-month period, when $7.800 in new business was generated.
Those metrics, as well as other financial and operating statistics, were reported in parent Genworth Financial Inc.’s first-quarter 2016 earnings results.
Activity accelerated, however, from the first-three months of last year, when $6.300 billion in new insurance was written.
All of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company’s business is generated through the flow channel.
Refinance share climbed to 19 percent in the first-quarter 2016 from 17 percent in the fourth-quarter 2015.
“During the first quarter of 2016, the company’s concentration of single premium flow new insurance written was slightly higher than the prior quarter, and modestly lower than the prior year as it continues its selective participation in this market,” the report stated. “Future volumes of its single premium products will vary in part depending on the company’s evaluation of the risk return profile of these products.”
As of March 31, 2016, Genworth had $124.100 billion primary insurance in force.
The mortgage insurer’s book of business grew from $122.400 billion three months earlier and $115.200 billion a year earlier.
Genworth finished March 2016 with a primary delinquency rate of 4.21 percent.
The default rate was cut from 4.86 percent at the end of last year and 5.65 percent at the same point last year.
Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes at Genworth M.I. were $95 million, improving from $64 million in the final quarter of last year and $81 million in the first quarter of last year.
But at the parent company, pre-tax
income plunged to $150 million from $294 million in the first-quarter 2015.
