Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW), through its mortgage insurance arm, has come up with a program to extend its reach to more homebuyers. Through an initiative called Homebuyer Privileges, the company is working with nearly 300,000 retailers in the U.S. to provide a saving opportunity to shoppers who are interested in buying homes.
Saving up to $7,500
Genworth believes many would-be homebuyers are held back by down payment burden. Therefore, the company is trying to work with retailers in a program that would see shoppers benefit from retail discounts that count toward their savings for a home purchase.
Shoppers can save up to $7,500 through the Homebuyer Privileges initiative, thus reducing their home buying deposit requirement burden.
Those who wish to take advantage of the saving opportunity that Genworth is providing through retailers have 12 months to enroll into the Homebuyer Privilege program. After that, they will have 12 more months to utilize the various discounts provided by retailers to save toward their home purchase goal.
Who are the retail partners?
Genworth’s retail partners for Homebuyer Privilege initiative include Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST).
Rohit Gupta of Genworth Mortgage Insurance said that the idea behind Homebuyer Privilege initiative is to improve the affordability of homeownership.
Coping with the challenges
Genworth is expanding its Homebuyer Privilege program just after management said at the recent earnings call that it was doing everything possible to cope with industry challenges.
Historically low interest rates, volatility in commodity prices and a global economic slowdown are some of the headwinds mortgage providers are facing currently. To escape some of those difficulties, Genworth decided to pull out of the European market by monetizing its assets in the region.
CEO Thomas J. McInerney said that debt reduction and enhancing of shareholder value remain key priorities in 2016.
2Q2016 earnings
Genworth posted EPS of $0.25, exceeding the consensus estimate that called for EPS of $0.21. Revenue of $2.24 billion rose 4.2% YoY and outpaced the consensus estimate by $160 million.
