US mortgage insurance giant Arch Capital Group is ramping up its Australian presence in a bid to win more business in the country’s lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI) market. Arch already does business with Westpac, who offloads LMI’s loans above 90% LVR to them (with lower LVR loans held by the banks internal LMI division).
The Australian Financial Review reports that Arch is considering a request for proposal by National Australia Bank to provide its LMI. Currently, the bank’s LMI is provided by Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia for broker-originated loans and QBE Insurance for bank-originated loans.
According to the AFR, the process is still “in the preliminary stages”.
Arch already has a presence in Australia, supporting Westpac’s LMI operations by reinsuring riskier loans, the AFR reported. And now the US giant is said to have been granted a local license and plans to ramp up its business in the country.
There’s one big customer the US company won’t be able to touch for a few years, though. Genworth managed to lock down its relationship with Commonwealth Bank of Australia last year, renewing its contract for a further three years, according to the AFR.
