Moody's affirms Genworth ratings but switches outlook to negative 23 February 2015 4:55PM Ian Rogers Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it affirmed the A3 insurance financial strength ratings of Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Pty Limited (Genworth Australia) and Genworth Financial Mortgage Indemnity Limited (Genworth Indemnity).At the same time, Moody's said it revised to negative, from stable, the outlooks for Genworth Australia's and Genworth Indemnity's insurance financial strength ratings.It said the rating action "follows the announcement by Genworth… that it has been informed by Westpac that [the bank] has provided notice of termination of its agreement with Genworth Australia for the provision of lenders' mortgage insurance."Moody's said that, in its view, "Westpac's decision to terminate its relationship with Genworth Australia is indicative of a longer-run trend towards reduced usage of the domestic mortgage insurance product." The ratings agency observed that: "Australian major banks are not currently deriving regulatory capital benefits from using LMI."Similarly, product innovation, such as the use of self-insured low-deposit mortgage products, could further decrease the need for third-party LMI. In addition, over the recent years, Westpac has diversified its mortgage insurance exposure towards a more diverse set of global reinsurers."