The PMI Group, Inc. PMIR
Dividend Power Score
A single, comprehensive score designed to measure the true strength of a company’s dividend.
This score combines three essential pillars of dividend quality:
Consistency – Measures how reliable the dividend has been over time, focusing on payment history, stability, and the absence of cuts or suspensions.
Payability – Assesses the company’s financial ability to sustain its dividend, taking into account cash flow, earnings coverage, balance sheet strength, and overall financial health.
Growth – Evaluates the long-term growth of both the dividend and the company’s share price, highlighting businesses that consistently increase payouts while creating shareholder value.
Higher scores identify companies that have historically delivered dependable income alongside sustained dividend growth and long-term capital appreciation.
Company Overview
The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE: PMIR) was a U.S.-based mortgage insurance holding company primarily engaged in providing private mortgage insurance and related credit enhancement products to residential mortgage lenders and investors. The company operated within the financial services and mortgage insurance industries, focusing on protecting lenders and investors against losses resulting from borrower defaults on residential mortgage loans. Its core revenue historically came from mortgage insurance premiums, investment income generated from its insurance reserves, and related underwriting activities tied to the U.S. housing market.
The company’s principal operating subsidiary was PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., which became one of the larger private mortgage insurers in the United States during the housing expansion of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The PMI Group also operated international mortgage insurance and credit enhancement businesses through subsidiaries and joint ventures in regions including Australia, Europe, and parts of Asia. Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company expanded rapidly before experiencing severe financial distress during the U.S. housing crisis beginning in 2007. Following substantial mortgage-related losses, regulatory intervention, and restructuring efforts, the company ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011. Public filings and court records indicate that many operating activities were subsequently wound down or placed into rehabilitation proceedings.
Business Operations
The company historically generated revenue through mortgage insurance underwriting, reinsurance activities, and investment returns on insurance reserves. Its primary business segments included U.S. Mortgage Insurance, International Mortgage Insurance, and various investment and capital management operations. The domestic business focused on insuring conventional residential mortgage loans with high loan-to-value ratios, enabling lenders to sell loans into secondary mortgage markets while reducing credit exposure. International operations involved partnerships and joint ventures providing similar mortgage credit enhancement services outside the United States.
The PMI Group controlled several insurance and financial subsidiaries, including PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., PMI Insurance Co., and international affiliates operating in foreign mortgage markets. The company maintained relationships with mortgage originators, banks, government-sponsored enterprises, and institutional investors. During the financial crisis, elevated default rates and declining home prices significantly impaired the value of insured mortgage portfolios, leading regulators in Arizona to place certain insurance subsidiaries into receivership and rehabilitation. Available public disclosures, including SEC filings, indicate that capital adequacy and liquidity challenges materially reduced the company’s ability to continue writing new business after 2010.
Strategic Position & Investments
Before the housing market collapse, The PMI Group pursued growth through expansion in international mortgage insurance markets, product diversification, and increased penetration among U.S. mortgage lenders. Strategic initiatives included developing credit risk management technologies, expanding relationships with secondary mortgage market participants, and investing in international housing finance platforms. The company also pursued capital market activities intended to support underwriting capacity and risk distribution.
The company made investments through international subsidiaries and joint ventures, particularly in mortgage insurance operations outside the United States. Public disclosures reference involvement in markets such as Australia, where private mortgage insurance adoption was expanding during the 2000s. However, following the global financial crisis, management shifted focus toward restructuring, capital preservation, claims management, and regulatory negotiations. Court documents and regulatory records confirm that many strategic initiatives were suspended or curtailed as the company entered bankruptcy and insurance rehabilitation proceedings. Data regarding certain later-stage investment holdings and restructuring outcomes remains limited in public sources.
Geographic Footprint
The PMI Group was headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and historically operated primarily in the United States while maintaining international operations across selected foreign mortgage markets. The company’s domestic business centered on U.S. residential mortgage insurance, serving lenders nationwide through relationships with banks, mortgage originators, and housing finance participants.
Internationally, the company established operational and investment exposure in regions including Australia, Europe, and parts of Asia-Pacific through subsidiaries, partnerships, and equity interests. Its international strategy focused on exporting private mortgage insurance models into developing housing finance systems. Although the company maintained a multinational footprint prior to the financial crisis, public records indicate that operational scale contracted significantly after 2008 due to financial distress, regulatory intervention, and restructuring actions affecting both domestic and international businesses.
Leadership & Governance
The PMI Group was founded by mortgage insurance entrepreneur William J. “Bill” Herfurth, who played a significant role in the development of the private mortgage insurance sector in the United States. During the company’s later years as a public entity, leadership focused heavily on capital management, regulatory engagement, and restructuring efforts associated with the housing market downturn. Corporate governance and strategic direction during this period were shaped by the company’s deteriorating financial condition and obligations to regulators, creditors, and policyholders.
Key executives and leadership figures associated with the company during its final operational period included:
- Steven C. Smith – President and Chief Executive Officer
- Robert G. Quitter – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- William J. Herfurth – Founder and former Chairman
- David B. Katague – Senior executive involved in insurance operations and risk management
- Michael J. Zimmerman – Senior executive associated with restructuring and financial oversight
Leadership communications in public filings emphasized preserving policyholder obligations, managing insurance claims exposure, pursuing restructuring alternatives, and cooperating with state insurance regulators. Information regarding certain executive roles and governance changes during bankruptcy proceedings is partially fragmented across available public sources due to the company’s restructuring history and subsidiary rehabilitation actions.