Washington Mutual and the PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. have announced a $200 million pilot loan program to expand home ownership opportunities for low and moderate income borrowers in five states-California, Texas, Florida, Washington and Oregon. Under this pilot program, borrowers will be able to buy a single family home with as little as a one percent downpayment. Pre- and post-purchase counseling will be required under the pilot program. To be eligible borrowers may have an income no greater than 80 percent of their area's median, except for certain counties in the San Francisco Bay area where the maximum income will be 100 percent of area median. Washington Mutual will act as the lender, while the loans are to be insured by PMI, as the exclusive mortgage insurer for the product.

"We are pleased and proud to be working with Washington Mutual to provide low and moderate income borrowers in these five states a broader range of opportunities to own their own home. An increasingly higher percentage of first time homebuyers are coming from sectors of our population, such as low income persons, minorities and recent immigrants, that in the past may not have been well served by the mortgage market. This greater participation by previously underserved groups demonstrates that greater opportunities for home finance are available now, and that the array of opportunities is continuing to be expanded by mortgage market participants such as Washington Mutual and PMI," said David Katkov, PMI's Senior Vice President Pricing and Product Development/Portfolio Management.

Under the program borrowers may obtain 25- or 30-year fixed rate mortgages, with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 97 percent. Any difference between the borrower's downpayment and the maximum loan permitted may be made up with: grants from a Federal Home Loan Bank, or a non-profit organization; gifts from relatives; employer contributions, or from premium pricing of the loan.

With a history dating back to 1889, Washington Mutual is a financial services company that provides a diversified line of products and services to consumers and small- to mid-sized businesses. At December 31, 1999, Washington Mutual and its subsidiaries had assets of more than $180 billion and more than 2,000 consumer banking, mortgage lending, commercial banking and consumer finance offices throughout the nation.

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., with headquarters in San Francisco, is one of the largest private mortgage insurers in the United States. In addition, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. provides mortgage guaranty reinsurance in Hong Kong and, through a subsidiary, provides private mortgage insurance in Australia and New Zealand. PMI together with its parent company, The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE:PMI), and its corporate affiliates, is a leader in risk management technology, and provides various products and services for the home mortgage finance industry, as well as title insurance.

Washington Mutual, Inc.

Washington Mutual, Inc.

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