The PMI Group has seen lots of economic ups and downs during its 35 years as a residential mortgage insurer. But the recent downturn has been perhaps the most severe. The Walnut Creek-based company, which insures mortgages for homebuyers who are unable to offer at least 20 percent down on their new homes, has seen defaults skyrocket in the last two years. And it has had to pay an increasing number of claims to the banks and lenders that hold those mortgages. Traded on the New York Stock Exchange (PMI), the company saw revenues grow about 2 percent in 2009 to $924 million, but endured a $660 million net loss. Loan defaults totaled 150,925 in the fourth quarter, up from 109,850 at the end of 2008. The company has 650 employees and does business in all 50 states.
LEGAL TEAM AND OUTSIDE COUNSEL
Andrew Cameron, 44, has seen his legal department grow by two during the recent downtown. Now at 12 attorneys — 11 in Walnut Creek and one in New York City — work has increased steadily as state insurance regulators have increased their scrutiny of the industry. “We do a lot of that in house,” Cameron said. “That’s why our department is so large for the size of the company.”
