MII enables building societies to maintain a presence in higher LTV lending by providing protection for lenders against a loss. One of the first societies to join the collective is The Hanley Economic Building Society.
Mutual One now has eight shareholding Societies, with Skipton holding 80% of the shares – the remaining 20% is allocated between seven other building societies.
David Webster, CEO of the Hanley Economic, said: “We want to continue to lend to first time buyers within our local community at 90% LTV. With the new building societies guidelines (BSOCS) now on the table we took the opportunity of the new mortgage insurance collective, which will provide The Hanley with a cost effective approach to mortgage insurance.”
A spokesperson for the Society said that it is offering first-time buyer products through its direct channel and would “not rule out the possibility of using intermediaries” in the future.
He added that various other Societies of similar size to The Hanley have shown interest in joining the collective.
Alison Kaye, director of finance and operations at Mutual One has confirmed that one other Building Society has joined its collective, while several others have expressed an interest.
Andrew Gold, chief operating officer of Mutual One, said that joining forces with Genworth Financial followed careful examination of the product benefits, sustainability and service proposition available in the marketplace.
He said: “We believe the MII collective relationship will help Societies continue to meet their core purpose of providing a wide choice of residential mortgages including those for borrowers who need higher LTV mortgages.”
Tammy Richardson, senior vice president for Genworth Financial’s UK Mortgage Insurance division, said that the insurance collective will widen access to home ownership for consumers through the good and bad times.
“We advocate prudent lending as a means to returning to stability in the housing market, and believe this new facility with Mutual One will help both the building societies involved, and their customers,” she explained.
