Radian had a third-quarter loss of $8.78 a share, compared with a year-earlier gain of $112 million, or $1.36 a share, joining larger rivals, MGIC Investment Corp. and PMI Group Inc. in reporting its first quarterly loss as a publicly traded company. Philadelphia-based Radian wrote down its $468 million stake in Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC, owned jointly with MGIC, it said today in a statement.
The worst U.S. housing slump in 16 years deepened as homeowners with private mortgage insurance defaulted on 22 percent more loans in September than a year earlier, according to an industry trade group. Falling home prices make it harder for struggling homeowners to sell or refinance their property and for banks to cover their loans in a foreclosure sale. The insurers help lenders recoup losses.
”Mortgage insurance credit losses will continue to impact our results for the foreseeable future,'' Chief Executive Officer S.A. Ibrahim said in the statement.
Radian, which closed yesterday at $12.59 on the New York Stock Exchange, sold for $11 in pre-market trading at 8:43 a.m. The company has plunged 77 percent this year through yesterday's close. Milwaukee-based MGIC has fallen 69 percent and PMI, based in Walnut Creek, California, lost 66 percent.