| Q1 2007 American Safety Insurance Earnings Conference Call - Final
OPERATOR: Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2007 first-quarter results conference call for American Safety Insurance Holdings Ltd. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. (OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS). As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mr. Steve Crim, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Safety Insurance Holdings Ltd. Thank you. Mr. Crim, you may begin. STEVE CRIM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN SAFETY INSURANCE SERVICES, INC.: Okay, thank you very much. Good morning and welcome to our conference call to discuss our results for the first quarter of 2007, which were issued after the market closed yesterday. In addition to those participating on this telephone conference, this conference call is being broadcast over the Internet.
Ocwen Financial Corporation Acquires NCI Holdings, Inc.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 6, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) has acquired, by reverse merger, NCI Holdings, Inc. and its operating subsidiary, Nationwide Credit, Inc. (NCI), a privately held accounts receivable management company. NCI will be combined with Ocwen Recovery Group's operations. The consideration for the merger is $55 million in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments. NCI's senior executives, Chief Executive Officer and President Patrick Carroll, Chief Financial Officer George Williams and Executive Vice President of Operations Dale Bissette, are remaining with the company. "Having achieved our cost reduction and improved execution capabilities from Ocwen Recovery Group's global workforce, this transaction is in line with our focus on both organic and acquisition based revenue growth for this segment.
Mortgage insurers feel heat
AUSTRALIA'S leading mortgage insurers are feeling the pinch from rising home loan defaults, after insurance claims from banks and other lenders soared more than 500 per cent last year. The two big mortgage insurers - Genworth and PMI - were hit by sharp rises in claims from home lenders according to 2006 accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Home lenders take out mortgage insurance on home loans to minimise potential losses from high risk home buyers who rely on borrowed money to fund more than 80 per cent of their home purchase. Changes in the claims experience of mortgage insurers are an early pointer to the credit quality of home loans in Australia. Mortgage insurers are among the first businesses to feel the negative impact of rises in home loan defaults and the 2006 accounts of PMI and Genworth confirm that the credit cycle has peaked.
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