The sale by the Australian government in 1997 of the non-financial assets of the Housing Loans Insurance Corporation is the great steal of the privatisation era.For an outlay of only A$8 million (which covered goodwill and non-financial assets) the then GE Capital acquired a company with more than 30 years of operating history, only one year of underwriting losses, well established relationships with lenders, and a market share of around 50 per cent.By the time GE spun out Genworth in 2004, accounts for its Australian mortgage insurance arm showed contributed equity and retained profits just shy of $700 million, and goodwill of $1.02 billion, placing a value on the business at the time of around $1.8 billion.The 2010 financial statements of the handful of Genworth-owned entities that own the main operating business (and which have shuffled ownership stakes between them) do not disclose an up-to-date figure goodwill. The net assets of the holding company and the main operating entity remain, six years later, at $1.8 billion.Given Genworth is a monoline insurer (rare on the ASX) and operates with long tail risks, its valuation in any IPO is open to conjecture. But the insurer will probably qualify for the ASX 100.