Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Q2 2023 Results Conference Call August 4, 0000 2:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Phil Stefano - Vice President-Investor Relations

Mark Casale - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

David Weinstock - Chief Financial Officer

Chris Curran - President-Essent Guaranty

Conference Call Participants

Mihir Bhatia - Bank of America

Rick Shane - JPMorgan

Bose George - KBW

Doug Harter - Credit Suisse

Eric Hagen - BTIG

Geoffrey Dunn - Dowling & Partners

Operator

Good morning. My name is Rob, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Essent Group Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Ty.

Phil Stefano, Vice President, Investor Relations. You may begin your conference.

Phil Stefano

Thank you, Rob. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our call. Joining me today are Mark Casale, Chairman and CEO; and David Weinstock, Chief Financial Officer. Also on hand for the Q&A portion of the call is Chris Curran, President of Essent Guaranty.

Our press release, which contains Essent's financial results for the second quarter of 2023 was issued earlier today and is available on our website at Essentgroup.com. Prior to getting started, I would like to remind participants that today's discussions are being recorded and will include the use of forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially.

For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please review the cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements in today's press release, the risk factors included in our Form 10-K with the SEC filed on February 17, 2023, and any other reports and registration statements filed with the SEC, which are also available on our website.

Now let me turn the call over to Mark.

Mark Casale

Thanks, Phil, and good morning, everyone. Earlier today, we released our second quarter 2023 financial results, which continue to benefit from our high-quality insurance portfolio and favourable credit performance. Also, rising interest rates continue to drive higher investment income and elevated persistency, which supports the growth of our in-force portfolio despite pressure on new business volumes.

Our long-term outlook in housing remains constructive as we believe that demographic-driven demand and low inventory should provide foundational support to home prices. While there is still uncertainty surrounding the U.S. economy, we remain confident in our robust capital position and the strength of our buy, manage and distribute operating model.