Genworth Financial Canada, the country’s largest private default insurer, has added Street Capital to its portfolio of lenders.
In turn, Street Capital will now feature Genworth as an additional insurer option, making it one of the only lenders in the country to offer all three insurers (CMHC, Genworth and Canada Guaranty) for new applications.
That gives brokers a choice when positioning deals that may require exceptions, and can increase the odds of approval in such cases.
Here are the products that Street now has through Genworth:
- Homebuyer 95
- New to Canada
- Family Plan Program
- Borrowed Down Payment
- Cash-out Refinance
- Vacation/Second Homes
- Purchase Plus Improvements
- Extended Amortization.
Street is not currently offering Genworth’s BFS or Investment Property Program. Hopefully it does in the not-too-distant future.
As a side note, Genworth’s conventional Investment Property Program is easily the most flexible rental product of any insurer. It permits a very favourable 80% rental offset calculation on all rental income. That’s quite helpful for applicants with multiple sources of rent.
Rob McLister, CMT
Last modified: April 26, 2017
Does anyone know what other lenders use all three insurers? Thanks
It would be interesting to see a write up that defines and explores the differences between the three mortgage insurers?
Home Trust
I’m curious to know why some banks have stopped using Genworth or aren’t partnered with companies like Canada Guaranty. Are the private mortgage insurers taking on riskier mortgages than say CMHC or is it the opposite, CMHC takes the riskiest? Do they not provide as good of a default guarantee than say CMHC? Is their paperwork sloppier or, the opposite, are they too stringent and onerous? Doesn’t the government guarantee private mortgage insurers anyway?
Any information would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Doug
Some lenders stopped using private insurers after the credit crisis. Genworth and AIG (now Canada Guaranty) were considered more risky because they only had a 90% gov’t guarantee.
Today most lenders use CMHC and one of the privates. Both have their advantages. Genworth for example has better self-employed and rental guidelines. On the other hand, CMHC insures rural properties whereas privates do not. To say that either CMHC or privates insure risky mortgages is inaccurate.