PMI's Claims-Paying Resources Unaffected by Fitch Action

Thu Jun 5, 2008 10:50pm EDT
 
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WALNUT CREEK, Calif., June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The PMI Group, Inc.
(NYSE: PMI) today announced that Fitch lowered the debt rating of the holding
company and the insurer financial strength ratings of its U.S. and
international subsidiaries.  The following ratings were issued:


                            Company                             Rating
                                                            To         From
    Long-Term Issuer Rating
    The PMI Group, Inc.                                     BBB+       A
    Insurer Financial Strength
    PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. (PMI U.S.)                   A+         AA
    PMI Mortgage Insurance Company Limited (PMI Europe)     A+         AA
    PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd. (PMI Australia)             AA-        AA
    PMI Guaranty Co.                                        A+         AA
    PMI Insurance Co.                                       A+         AA



    PMI Australia's rating outlook, previously on Rating Watch Negative, was
improved to outlook negative.  The rating of PMI's joint venture, CMG Mortgage
Insurance Company, remains unchanged at AA.
    PMI remains an eligible mortgage insurer for both Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac (GSEs). In February, the GSEs informed all approved mortgage insurers that
they would be required to submit a remediation plan if their ratings were
lowered below AA- or Aa3. PMI has submitted a remediation plan to both GSEs
that details PMI's five-point plan to return to profitability, the company's
financial forecast and capital plan, and the risk management measures taken to
ensure the company is booking high quality business.
    PMI has significant financial resources to pay insurance claims on
defaulted loans.  As of March 31, 2008, PMI's combined U.S. mortgage insurance
companies had statutory capital of $2.6 billion, liquid assets of $2.8
billion, and premium income from $124 billion of insurance in force.
    Maintaining its financial strength is a top priority for the company, and
PMI has announced a series of options it is exploring or pursuing to further
enhance its capital, including capital markets transactions, utilization of
excess capital at its wholly-owned financial guaranty subsidiary, reinsurance,
and asset sales.
    PMI continues to work closely with each of the ratings agencies to
communicate its financial strength, capital plan, and value proposition.
    The PMI Group, Inc.
    The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE: PMI), headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA,
provides innovative credit, capital, and risk transfer solutions that expand
homeownership and fund essential services for our customers and the
communities they serve around the world.  Through its wholly and partially
owned subsidiaries, PMI offers residential mortgage insurance and credit
enhancement products.  PMI has operations in Asia, Australia and New Zealand,
Canada, Europe, and the United States.  For more information:
http://www.pmigroup.com.
    Cautionary Statement: Statements in this press release that are not
historical facts, or that relate to future plans, events or performance are
"forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements include our
beliefs with respect to our financial strength, claims-paying ability, and our
capital plan.  Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements by their
nature involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend
on circumstances that will occur in the future.  Many factors could cause
actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by forward-looking statements.  Such factors include, among others,
national or regional recessions, and further deterioration in the housing,
mortgage and related credit markets.  In particular, declines in housing
values and/or housing demand, deterioration of borrower credit, higher
unemployment rates, changes in interest rates, higher levels of consumer
credit, higher mortgage default and claim rates, lower cure rates, higher
claim sizes, the aging of our mortgage insurance portfolios, adverse changes
in liquidity in the capital markets, the inability of loan servicers to
process higher volumes of delinquent loans, and the contraction of credit
markets could negatively affect our losses, loss reserves and paid claims.
The ratings downgrades announced, and/or future ratings downgrades, if any,
will likely negatively impact us in a variety of ways and could, in isolation
or taken together, materially negatively affect, among other things, our U.S.
and international business prospects and revenues, our ability to compete in
the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia and Asia, our GSE eligibility status in
the U.S., the cost of and/or availability of financing, our consolidated
financial condition, and our results of operations and cash flows.  Other
risks and uncertainties are discussed in our SEC filings, including our Annual
Report Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 (in Item 1A) and Form
10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.  We undertake no obligation to
update forward-looking statements.
SOURCE  The PMI Group, Inc.

Media, Stephanie Corns of The PMI Group, Inc., +1-925-658-6357, or Investors,
Bill Horning of The PMI Group, Inc., +1-925-658-6193

 

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