SAN FRANCISCO In a bid to expand globally, mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc., said Monday that it has established a Dublin subsidiary, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. Ltd., to sell its insurance products to European homebuyers.
Europe is a large, underserved market for PMIs products, said Claude Seaman, group executive vice president for strategic investments. According to PMI, total mortgage debt outstanding in Europe exceeds $3 trillion, compared with $4 trillion in the United States. Homeownership rates are also lower in most of Europe, and no mortgage insurance company is operating outside the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mr. Seaman said.
The Dublin unit is capitalized at $75 million. It is to offer traditional primary insurance, structured portfolio products, and reinsurance products for loans and securitizations throughout the European Union.
Russell Rasmussen, PMIs vice president of European operations, is to be the units managing director in Dublin.
