Moody’s Investor Service released a report last week that examined the subprime mortgage risk exposure among U.S. mortgage insurers. The rating agency’s assessment of risk? Not much:
Widespread downgrades are not anticipated among US mortgage insurers through the intermediate term despite the appearance of higher risk characteristics in their portfolios during recent years, particularly from increased exposure to ‘affordability products’ such as pay-option ARMs and higher LTV loans, says a new report, noting that subprime loans comprise less than 12% of the industry’s total risk-in-force.
The full report is available to Moodys subscribers. Update: In a similar vein, a new Standard and Poor’s report also tackles subprime risk exposure — among other items — and says that subprime exposure is unlikely to cause bond insurers significant difficulties.
