Mortgage insurer weighs Alberta market

Canada’s largest private mortgage insurer is watching closely for signs of risk in the Alberta housing market.

Canada’s largest private mortgage insurer is watching closely for signs of risk in the Alberta housing market. Genworth’s chief executive Stuart Levings says that he expects to see mortgage delinquencies increase in the second half of this year as the impact of the oil industry slowdown starts to bite. Mr Levings, who was the mortgage insurer’s chief risk officer during the financial crisis, told the Globe and Mail that he doesn’t think the situation will be as big as it was back then. However he says Genworth is expecting unemployment to rise by 7 per cent and house prices to drop by 8 to 10 per cent in Alberta during this year.