Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call May 5, 2023 10:00 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

Mark DeVries - Barclays

Bose George - KBW

Mihir Bhatia - Bank of America

Geoffrey Dunn - Dowling & Partners

Doug Harter - Credit Suisse

Roland Mayer - RBC Capital Markets

Eric Hagen - BTIG

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Essent Group Ltd. First Quarter Earnings 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]

I will now turn the conference over to Phil Stefano. Please go ahead.

Phil Stefano

Thank you, Sarah. 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 first 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 filed with the SEC 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 first quarter 2023 financial results, which continue to demonstrate the earnings power of our business. Our financial performance for the first quarter benefited from rising interest rates and favorable credit performance. Higher rates translated to higher investment income along with higher persistency, which supports the growth of our in-force portfolio, despite lower origination volumes.

As we continue through 2023, we remain confident in our buy, manage and distribute operating model. While we recognize the uncertainty surrounding the economy in the near term, we continue to manage the business, considering a range of scenarios. We remain constructive on housing over the longer term, as we believe that demographic-driven demand and low inventory should provide foundational support to home prices.