PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Radian Group Inc.
(NYSE: RDN), a global credit risk management company, today announced that
Roy Kasmar has decided to step down as head of the International Mortgage
business, effective April 1, 2007, and will remain as a strategic advisor
to Radian through the end of the year.
Since late 2005, Kasmar's principal responsibility has been to lead
Radian's strategic efforts to strengthen its mortgage insurance business
outside of the United States. Radian Chief Executive Officer S.A. Ibrahim
will assume primary responsibility for directing these efforts. Jeff
Cashmer, senior vice president, International Mortgage, will continue to be
responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business and will report
directly to Ibrahim.
In his advisor role, Kasmar will continue to serve on the company's
Enterprise Risk Committee and the boards of directors for Radian Europe
Limited and Radian Australia Limited. In conjunction with this transition,
Kasmar will relinquish his title as President, Radian Group Inc.
"During his 10 years at Radian, Roy has been integral to the growth of
our mortgage insurance business both in domestic and international
markets," said Ibrahim. "We thank him for his many contributions to Radian
and look forward to his continued counsel, expertise and insight."
Said Kasmar, "I am proud of the achievements of Radian's International
Mortgage Insurance business during the past year. We successfully launched
Radian Europe Limited and Radian Australia Limited, and recruited strong,
new talent for the growing International Mortgage teams for Radian in the
U.S., U.K. and Hong Kong. I look forward to working closely with S.A. and
Jeff to ensure a smooth transition."
Australia Expansion
Late last year, the company formed Radian Australia Limited and filed
an application to conduct mortgage insurance business with the Australian
Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). Radian has several reinsurance
arrangements in place in the growing Australian market, including a recent
transaction with St. George Insurance Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary
of St. George Bank, Australia's fifth largest bank.
In anticipation of future growth, Radian is building a team and
establishing an office in Australia for Radian Australia Limited. Andrew
Morgan, managing director, who joined Radian in 2005 as finance director
for the International Mortgage group in London, relocated to Sydney last
year and is responsible for overseeing Radian's Australian business
development efforts and operations.
About Radian Group Inc.
Radian Group Inc. is a global credit risk management company
headquartered in Philadelphia with significant operations in both New York
and London. Radian develops innovative financial solutions by applying its
core mortgage credit risk expertise and structured finance capabilities to
the credit enhancement needs of the capital markets worldwide, primarily
through credit insurance products. The company also provides credit
enhancement for public finance and other corporate and consumer assets on
both a direct and reinsurance basis and holds strategic interests in active
credit-based consumer asset businesses. Additional information may be found
at http://www.radian.biz.
All statements made in this news release that address events or
developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are made on the basis of management's current views and
assumptions with respect to future events. The forward-looking statements,
as well as Radian's prospects as a whole, are subject to risks and
uncertainties, including the following: changes in general financial and
political conditions such as extended national or regional economic
recessions (or expansions), changes in housing values, population trends
and changes in household formation patterns, changes in unemployment rates,
and changes or volatility in interest rates; changes in investor perception
of the strength of private mortgage insurers or financial guaranty
providers, and risks faced by the businesses, municipalities or pools of
assets covered by Radian's insurance; the loss of a customer with whom
Radian has a concentration of its insurance in force; increased severity or
frequency of losses associated with certain Radian products that are
riskier than traditional mortgage insurance and municipal guaranty
insurance policies; material changes in persistency rates of Radian's
mortgage insurance policies; downgrades of Radian's credit ratings or the
insurance financial-strength ratings assigned by the major ratings agencies
to Radian's operating subsidiaries; heightened competition from other
insurance providers and from alternative products to private mortgage
insurance and financial guaranty insurance; changes in the charters or
business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the application of
federal or state consumer- lending, insurance and other applicable laws and
regulations, or unfavorable changes in these laws and regulations or the
way they are interpreted, including: (i) the possibility of private
lawsuits or investigations by state insurance departments and state
attorneys general alleging that services offered by the mortgage insurance
industry, such as captive reinsurance, pool insurance and contract
underwriting, are violative of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
and/or similar state regulations (particularly in light of public reports
that some state insurance departments are investigating captive reinsurance
arrangements used in the mortgage insurance industry), or (ii) legislative
and regulatory changes affecting demand for private mortgage insurance or
financial guaranty insurance; the possibility that we may fail to estimate
accurately the likelihood, magnitude and timing of losses in connection
with establishing loss reserves for our mortgage insurance or financial
guaranty businesses or to estimate accurately the fair value amounts of
derivative financial guaranty contracts in determining gains and losses on
these contracts; changes in accounting guidance from the SEC or the
Financial Accounting Standards Board regarding income recognition and the
treatment of loss reserves in the mortgage insurance or financial guaranty
industries; changes in claims against mortgage insurance products resulting
from the aging of Radian's mortgage insurance policies; vulnerability to
the performance of Radian's strategic investments; changes in the
availability of affordable or adequate reinsurance for our non-prime risk;
and international expansion of our mortgage insurance and financial
guaranty businesses into new markets and risks associated with our
international business activities. For more information regarding these
risks and uncertainties, as well as certain additional risks that we face,
investors should refer to the risk factors detailed in Part I, Item 1A in
our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and the
material changes to these risks identified in our quarterly report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006. We caution you not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of
the date of this news release. Radian does not intend to and disclaims any
duty or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements made
in this news release to reflect new information, future events or for any
other reason.
SOURCE Radian Group Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.radian.biz/
CONTACT:
For investors: Mona Zeehandelaar,
+1-215-231-1674, email: mona.zeehandelaar@radian.biz; or For the
media: Corporate Communications, +1-215-231-1990, email:
media@radian.biz, both of Radian Group
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