Fourth Quarter 2024 Md&a
Management's Discussion and Analysis
For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
Interpretation
The current and prior period comparative results for Sagen MI Canada Inc. ("Sagen" or the "Company"), reflect the consolidation of the Company and its subsidiaries, including Sagen Mortgage Insurance Company Canada (the "Insurance Subsidiary"). The Insurance Subsidiary is engaged in the provision of mortgage insurance in Canada and is regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions ("OSFI") as well as financial services regulators in each province.
The following Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") of the financial condition and results of operations as approved by the Company's board of directors (the "Board") on January 29, 2025, is prepared for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024. The audited consolidated financial statements of the Company were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"). This MD&A should be read in conjunction with the Company's financial statements.
In this MD&A, references to "$", "dollars" or "Canadian dollars" are to Canadian dollars and references to "US$" or "U.S. dollars" are to United States dollars. Amounts are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this MD&A to "Sagen" or the "Company" refer to Sagen MI Canada Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Unless the context otherwise requires, all financial information is presented on an IFRS basis.
Caution regarding forward-looking information and statements
Certain statements made in this MD&A contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward- looking statements"). When used in this MD&A, the words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "seek", "propose", "estimate", "expect", and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Specific forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to: guideline changes by OSFI; the impact of such changes on the Company; the impact on the Company of the 2024 MICAT Guideline (as defined herein); the impact of the implementation of new accounting standards on the Company's financial statements; measures introduced by the Canadian federal government in the federal budget in April 2024; the impact of the cancellation of the "First-Time Home Buyer Incentive" program by the Canadian federal government on the Company's results; the timing and application of CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 (each defined herein); the Company's beliefs as to housing demand and home price appreciation, key macroeconomic factors, unemployment rates, and potential tariffs imposed by the United States; the Company's future operating and financial results; expectations regarding premiums written; capital expenditure plans, dividend policy and the ability of the Company to execute on its future operating, investing and financial strategies.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions, certain of which appear proximate to the applicable forward-looking statements contained herein. Inherent in the forward-looking statements are known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or developments in the Company's business or in its industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements.
The Company's actual results and performance could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of both known and unknown risks, including: the continued availability of the Canadian government's guarantee of private mortgage insurance on terms satisfactory to the Company; the Company's expectations regarding its revenues, expenses and operations; the Company's plans to implement its strategy and operate its business; the Company's expectations regarding the compensation of directors and officers; the Company's anticipated cash needs and its estimates regarding its capital expenditures, capital requirements, reserves and its needs for additional financing; the Company's plans for and timing of expansion of service and products; the Company's ability to accurately assess and manage risks associated with the policies that are written; the Company's ability to accurately manage market, interest and credit risks; the Company's ability to maintain ratings, which may be affected by the ratings of its sole Class A common shareholder, Brookfield Business Partners L.P., together with certain of its affiliates and institutional partners ("Brookfield"); interest rate, credit spreads, foreign exchange rates and equity price fluctuations; a decrease in the volume of high loan-to-value mortgage originations; the cyclical nature of the mortgage insurance industry; changes in government regulations and laws mandating mortgage insurance or impacting the competitive landscape of the mortgage insurance industry; the acceptance by the Company's lenders of new technologies and products; the Company's ability to attract lenders and develop and maintain lender relationships; the Company's competitive position and its expectations regarding competition from other providers of mortgage insurance in Canada; anticipated trends and challenges in the Company's business and the markets in which it operates; changes in the global or Canadian economies; a decline in the Company's regulatory capital or an
Page 2of 49
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
increase in its regulatory capital requirements; increased market volatility, political risk, regulatory compliance and costs associated with international investing; geopolitical risk, including deterioration in international trade or consumer confidence due to geopolitical instability resulting from armed conflicts or acts of terrorism or war; environmental concerns, including climate change; changes in the value of investment securities held by the Company; loss of members of the Company's senior management team; potential legal, tax and regulatory investigations and actions; negative publicity; operational risks, including the failure of the Company's computer systems or potential cyber threats; reduction of business or adverse selection of loans with key lenders; the Company's reliance on its subsidiaries; litigation; insufficient insurance coverage; and potential conflicts of interest between the Company and its sole Class A common shareholder, Brookfield.
This is not an exhaustive list of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. Some of these and other factors are discussed in more detail in the Company's Annual Information Form (the "AIF") dated March 20, 2024. Investors and others should carefully consider these and other factors and not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risk factors is included in the Company's public filings with provincial and territorial securities regulatory authorities (including the Company's AIF) and can be found on the System for Electronic Data Analysis and Retrieval + ("SEDAR+") website at www.sedarplus.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this MD&A represent the Company's views only as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements contained in this MD&A are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions and the assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions may change, and are presented for the purpose of assisting the Company's security holders in understanding management's current views regarding those future outcomes and may not be appropriate for other purposes. While the Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's views to change, the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.
Non-GAAP and other financial measures disclosure
Non-GAAPfinancial measures are used by the Company to analyze performance and supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with IFRS. Such non-GAAP financial measures include premiums written; net operating income; operating investment income; interest and dividend income, net of investment expenses; pre-tax equivalent operating investment income; net insurance revenue; and net insurance service results. See the Non-GAAPand other financial measures section at the end of this MD&A for a reconciliation of (i) net insurance revenue to the comparable financial measure of insurance revenue, (ii) net insurance service result to the comparable financial measure of insurance service result, (iii) operating investment income and interest and dividend income, net of investment expenses to the comparable financial measure of total investment income; (iv) net operating income to the comparable financial measure of net income; and (v) pre-tax equivalent operating investment income to the comparable financial measure of total investment income. These non-GAAP financial measures have been restated to reflect the impact of new accounting standards as described below.
Non-GAAPratios used by the Company include investment yield.
Supplementary financial measures used by the Company to analyze performance include loss ratio, expense ratio, combined ratio, financial leverage ratio and contractual service margin ratio. The supplementary financial measures can be calculated using financial measures from the Company's consolidated financial statements.
The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, non-GAAP ratios and supplementary financial measures provide meaningful information regarding its performance and may be useful to investors as they allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making. These measures and ratios may not have standardized meanings and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.
Definitions of key non-GAAP and other financial measures and explanations of why these measures are useful to investors and management can be found in the Company's Non-GAAPand other financial measures glossary, in the Non-GAAPand other financial measures section at the end of this MD&A.
Operational metrics
Operational metrics used by the Company include outstanding insured mortgage balances, delinquency ratio on outstanding insured mortgage balances, new reported delinquencies, cures, average reserve per delinquencies and average premium rate. These metrics are used by the Company to analyze performance in regard to the aggregate amount of outstanding insurance, delinquency trends and premium rate trends.
Page 3of 49
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
Contents |
|
Business profile |
6 |
Overview |
8 |
Fourth quarter financial highlights |
8 |
Recent business and regulatory developments |
10 |
Fourth quarter review |
16 |
Summary of annual information |
22 |
Summary of quarterly results |
24 |
Reserve development analysis |
25 |
Financial condition |
26 |
Financial instruments |
26 |
Liquidity |
30 |
Derivative financial instruments |
31 |
Capital expenditures |
31 |
Capital management |
32 |
Mortgage insurer capital adequacy test |
32 |
Debt |
33 |
Credit facility |
34 |
Preferred shares |
35 |
Financial strength ratings |
35 |
Capital transactions |
36 |
Restrictions on dividends and capital transactions |
36 |
Outstanding share data |
36 |
Risk management |
37 |
Enterprise risk management framework |
37 |
Governance framework |
37 |
Risk principles |
38 |
Risk appetite framework |
38 |
Risk controls |
39 |
Risk categories |
39 |
Financial reporting controls and accounting disclosures |
42 |
Disclosure controls & procedures and internal control over financial reporting |
42 |
Changes in accounting standards and future accounting standards |
42 |
Sustainability and climate-related reporting standards |
43 |
Material accounting judgements, estimates and assumptions |
43 |
Transactions with related parties |
44 |
Non-GAAP and other financial measures |
45 |
Non-GAAP and other financial measures glossary |
46 |
Other Glossary |
47 |
Page 4of 49
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
List of tables |
|
Table 1: Selected financial information |
8 |
Table 2: Results of operations |
16 |
Table 3: Premiums written |
17 |
Table 4: Net insurance revenue |
17 |
Table 5: Losses on claims |
18 |
Table 6: Expenses |
19 |
Table 7: Investment income |
20 |
Table 8: Net Income |
21 |
Table 9: Select annual income statement and performance indicators for the last three years |
22 |
Table 10: Select annual statement of financial position for the last three years |
22 |
Table 11: Statement of financial position |
23 |
Table 12: Summary of quarterly results |
24 |
Table 13: Reserve development analysis |
25 |
Table 14: Invested assets by asset class for the portfolio |
27 |
Table 15: Invested assets by credit rating for the portfolio |
28 |
Table 16: Summary of the Company's cash flows |
30 |
Table 17: Summary of the Company's contractual obligations |
31 |
Table 18: Fair value and notional amounts of derivatives by terms of maturity |
31 |
Table 19: MICAT as at December 31, 2024, and as at December 31, 2023 |
32 |
Table 20: Details of the Company's long-term debt and hybrid notes |
33 |
Table 21: Changes in the number of common shares, Class A common shares and Series 1 Preferred Shares outstanding |
36 |
Table 22: Non-GAAP financial measures reconciled to comparable IFRS measures |
45 |
Page 5of 49
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
Business profile
Business background
Sagen is the largest private-sector residential mortgage insurer in Canada and has been providing mortgage default insurance in the country since 1995. The Company has built a broad underwriting and distribution platform across the country that provides customer-focused products and support services to the vast majority of Canada's residential mortgage lenders and originators. Sagen underwrites mortgage insurance for residential properties in all provinces and territories of Canada and has the leading market share and largest in-force book among private-sector mortgage insurers. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ("CMHC"), a crown corporation, and Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company, a private mortgage insurer, are the Company's main competitors.
Federally regulated lenders are required to purchase transactional mortgage insurance in respect of a residential mortgage loan whenever the loan-to-value ratio exceeds 80%. The Company offers both transactional and portfolio mortgage insurance. The Company's transactional mortgage insurance covers default risk on mortgage loans secured by residential properties to protect lenders from any resulting losses on claims. By offering insurance for transactional mortgages, the Company plays a significant role in providing access to homeownership for Canadian residents. Homebuyers who can only afford to make a smaller down payment can, through the benefits provided by mortgage insurers such as Sagen, obtain mortgages at rates comparable to buyers with more substantial down payments.
The Company also provides portfolio mortgage insurance to lenders for loans with loan-to-value ratios of 80% or less. Portfolio mortgage insurance is beneficial to lenders as it provides the ability to manage capital and funding requirements, and mitigate risk. The Company views portfolio mortgage insurance as an extension of its relationship with existing transactional insurance customers. Therefore, the Company carefully manages the level of its portfolio mortgage insurance relative to its overall mortgage insurance business. Premium rates on portfolio mortgage insurance have historically been lower than those on transactional mortgage insurance due to the lower risk profile associated with portfolio loans.
Seasonality
The transactional mortgage insurance business is seasonal. Business volumes vary each quarter, while interest and dividend income, net of investment expenses, and administrative expenses tend to be relatively consistent from quarter to quarter. The variations in business volumes are driven by mortgage origination activity, which typically peak in the spring and summer months.
Losses on claims vary from quarter to quarter, primarily as the result of prevailing economic conditions, changes in employment levels and characteristics of the outstanding insured mortgage balances, such as size, age, seasonality and geographic mix of delinquencies. Typically, losses on claims increase during the winter months, primarily due to an increase in new delinquencies, and decrease during the spring and summer months. During 2022, the cumulative favourable impact of home price appreciation from 2020 and 2021 in most regions of Canada resulted in relatively low levels of losses on claims and largely muted the typical seasonal pattern, which continued throughout 2023 and 2024.
The Company's business volumes from portfolio mortgage insurance vary from period to period based on a number of factors including the amount of portfolio mortgages lenders seek to insure, the competitiveness of the Company's pricing, underwriting guidelines and credit enhancement for portfolio insurance, and the Company's risk appetite for such mortgage insurance.
Distribution and marketing
The Company works with lenders, mortgage brokers and real estate agents across Canada to make homeownership more accessible for first- time homebuyers. Mortgage insurance customers consist of originators of residential mortgage loans, such as banks, mortgage loan and trust companies, credit unions and other lenders. These lenders typically determine which mortgage insurer they will use for the placement of mortgage insurance written on loans originated by them. The five largest Canadian chartered banks have historically been the largest residential mortgage originators in Canada.
Page 6of 49
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
Macroeconomic environment
The mortgage insurance business is influenced by macroeconomic conditions. Specifically, the level of business volumes is influenced by economic growth, interest rates, employment, housing activity, home prices and government policy among other factors. Losses on claims are primarily impacted by unemployment rates, home prices and housing activity.
Adoption of new accounting standards
On January 1, 2023, the Company adopted IFRS 17: Insurance contracts ("IFRS 17") and IFRS 9: Financial instruments ("IFRS 9") for the first time. IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 were applied to the Company's financial statements retrospectively, and comparative information was restated. IFRS 17, which replaced IFRS 4: Insurance contracts ("IFRS 4"), had a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements in 2023. Despite this impact, the Company's business model and related risks are not affected by these changes in accounting policies.
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Sagen MI Canada Inc.Q4 2024 MD&A
Overview
Fourth quarter financial highlights
Table 1: Selected financial information
Three months ended December 31, |
Full Year |
|||||||
(in millions of dollars, unless otherwise specified) |
2024 |
2023 |
2024 |
2023 |
||||
Premiums written¹ |
$ |
215 |
$ |
143 |
$ |
775 |
$ |
612 |
Insurance revenue |
$ |
236 |
$ |
199 |
$ |
848 |
$ |
730 |
Net losses on claims |
10 |
11 |
36 |
38 |
||||
Insurance expenses |
28 |
24 |
109 |
93 |
||||
Insurance service expense |
38 |
35 |
145 |
131 |
||||
Insurance service result |
198 |
164 |
703 |
600 |
||||
Insurance finance expense |
30 |
24 |
96 |
77 |
||||
Other operating expenses |
11 |
8 |
41 |
37 |
||||
Net insurance service result¹ |
157 |
132 |
565 |
485 |
||||
Investment income: |
||||||||
Interest |
65 |
63 |
248 |
235 |
||||
Dividends |
7 |
7 |
29 |
27 |
||||
Change in allowance for ECL |
1 |
- |
(7) |
(1) |
||||
Income (loss) from associate |
- |
- |
(2) |
(1) |
||||
General investment expenses |
(3) |
(4) |
(10) |
(14) |
||||
Interest and dividend income, net of investment expenses¹ |
70 |
66 |
259 |
247 |
||||
Realized income from the interest rate hedging program |
(1) |
- |
(2) |
(1) |
||||
Net realized gains (losses) from sales of investments |
(2) |
1 |
1 |
(11) |
||||
Net fair value gains (losses) on financial assets at FVTPL |
- |
11 |
33 |
10 |
||||
Net gains (losses) on derivatives and foreign exchange² |
4 |
1 |
(5) |
(8) |
||||
Total investment income |
71 |
78 |
286 |
238 |
||||
Interest expense |
10 |
10 |
40 |
38 |
||||
Income before income taxes |
218 |
200 |
811 |
684 |
||||
Income taxes |
55 |
50 |
206 |
173 |
||||
Net income |
$ |
163 |
$ |
151 |
$ |
606 |
$ |
512 |
Adjustment to net income, net of taxes: |
||||||||
Tax benefits from corporate reorganization |
21 |
21 |
21 |
21 |
||||
Net (gains) losses from investments, financial assets |
||||||||
at FVTPL, derivatives and foreign exchange² |
(1) |
(11) |
(22) |
6 |
||||
Net operating income¹ |
$ |
183 |
$ |
161 |
$ |
605 |
$ |
539 |
Effective tax rate |
25.1 % |
24.8 % |
25.3 % |
25.2 % |
||||
Selected measures: |
||||||||
Outstanding insured mortgage balances³ |
193,900 |
192,400 |
193,900 |
192,400 |
||||
Delinquency ratio on outstanding insured mortgage |
||||||||
balances³ |
0.18 % |
0.16 % |
0.18 % |
0.16 % |
||||
Loss ratio⁴ |
5 % |
6 % |
5 % |
6 % |
||||
Expense ratio⁴ |
19 % |
18 % |
20 % |
20 % |
||||
Combined ratio⁴ |
24 % |
24 % |
25 % |
26 % |
||||
MICAT⁵ |
177 % |
172 % |
177 % |
172 % |
Note: Amounts may not total due to rounding. 1 Non-GAAP financial measure. 2 Includes realized and unrealized gains and losses from derivatives and foreign exchange, excluding realized income and expense from the interest rate hedging program. 3 This estimate is based on the amounts reported by lenders to the Company which represents the vast majority of outstanding insured mortgage balances. 4 Supplementary financial measure. 5 Company estimate as at December 31, 2024. The Company calculated its mortgage insurer capital adequacy test ("MICAT") ratio in accordance with OSFI's Mortgage Insurer Capital Adequacy Test Guideline dated January 1, 2023 for the 2023 reporting period and the 2024 MICAT Guideline dated January 1, 2024 for the 2024 reporting period. The OSFI supervisory MICAT target ratio and minimum MICAT ratio under the Protection of Residential Mortgage or Hypothecary Insurance Act ("PRMHIA") is 150% and the Company's internal target ratio under the MICAT is 157%. See the Non-GAAP and other financial measures section at the end of this MD&A for additional information.
Page 8of 49
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
The Company reported net income of $163 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, $12 million higher than the same quarter in the prior year, primarily due to higher insurance revenue, partially offset by higher insurance service expense, higher insurance finance expense and lower investment income. Net operating income of $183 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 was higher than net income primarily due to the tax benefits from corporate reorganization.
The Company reported net income of $606 million in 2024, $94 million higher than the prior year, primarily due to higher insurance revenue and higher investment income, partially offset by higher insurance service expense, higher insurance finance expense and higher interest expense. Net operating income of $605 million in 2024 was modestly lower than net income primarily due to the exclusion of the after-tax impact of net gains from investments, financial assets at FVTPL, derivatives, and foreign exchange, offset by the tax benefits from corporate reorganization.
Page 9of 49
Sagen MI Canada Inc. |
Q4 2024 MD&A |
Recent business and regulatory developments
Canadian Federal Government 2024 Fall Economic Statement
On December 16, 2024, the Canadian federal government released its 2024 Fall Economic Statement which reiterated previously announced programs, and introduced some notable new measures, including:
- Removal of the stress test for low-ratio (loan-to-value ratio up to 80%) insurable mortgages when switching lenders at renewal, provided the mortgage meets the "straight switch" criteria, aligning Canadian federal rules with OSFI's decision released on November 21, 2024;
- Secondary suites funding, which doubles loan limits for secondary suite program to $80,000, and offers a 2% interest rate with a 15- year term; and
- The Canadian federal government's advance of plans to fight mortgage fraud through income verification and consultation with experts and mortgages lenders in order to design a secure and user-friendly tool to help financial institutions mitigate fraud.
OSFI's Fall Quarterly Release
On November 21, 2024, OSFI held its Fall Quarterly Release and announced measures that will streamline and strengthen its regulatory oversight. OSFI released the following:
- Letter confirming the prescribed minimum qualifying rate ("MQR") for uninsured straight switches at renewal is no longer required and implementing loan-to-income ("LTI") limit on the uninsured mortgage portfolios of institutions. The LTI limit is a simple supervisory measure that will restrict high levels of household debt across each institution's uninsured mortgage loan portfolio. The LTI limit measure is expected to take effect as of each institution's respective first fiscal quarter of 2025 and it will not impact insured mortgages. Accordingly, no direct impact from the LTI limit measure is anticipated to the Company;
- Regulatory Notice on Cultural Risk Management, setting expectations for managing culture risk in areas of governance and enterprise-wide culture management. This Regulatory Notice applies to all federally regulated financial institutions ("FRFIs");
- Final Mortgage Insurance Capital Adequacy Test 2025 Guideline ("2025 MICAT Guideline"), which updates capital rules for multi- unit residential mortgage insurance risk by standardizing the approach and leveraging the Capital Adequacy Requirements Guideline. The revised 2025 MICAT Guideline became effective on January 1, 2025 and is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's MICAT ratio; and
- Final International Financial Reporting Standard 17 Guideline, which replaces the IFRS 17 Advisory and brings together existing accounting expectations, removes redundant information, clarifies accounting expectations, and addresses specific comparability concerns. This Guideline applies to federally regulated insurers using IFRS 17. The Company is currently compliant with this Guideline. Accordingly, there is no expected impact from its finalization.
Expansion of Eligible Mortgage Criteria under PRMHIA
On September 16, 2024, the Canadian federal government announced the following changes to mortgage insurance rules in Canada, effective December 15, 2024:
- Increasing the $1 million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5 million; and
- Expanding eligibility for 30-year mortgage amortizations for insured mortgages to all first-time homebuyers and to all buyers of new build properties. This measure expands the change the Canadian federal government made on August 1, 2024, that allowed only first-time homebuyers, who were buying new build properties, access to 30-year insured high ratio mortgages.
These measures were available for high-ratio mortgage insurance applications that were submitted, including previously submitted applications that were resubmitted, on or after December 15, 2024.
On October 8, 2024, as previously announced in the 2024 Canadian federal budget, the Canadian federal government released details for lenders and mortgage insurers to offer the new insured mortgage refinancing products to encourage densification and enable homeowners to add more units to their current homes or properties. More specifically, these changes (i) allow refinancing of insured mortgages for secondary suites, and (ii) increase the mortgage insurance home price limit to $2 million for those refinancing to build a secondary suite.
This measure was effective for mortgage insurance applications submitted on or after January 15, 2025.
Page 10of 49
Attachments
Disclaimer
Sagen MI Canada Inc. published this content on January 30, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on January 30, 2025 at 22:07:19.450.
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