Commonwealth Bank will shift its lenders mortgage insurance to Arch Lenders Mortgage Indemnity from the beginning of 2026.
Helia, the incumbent LMI provider, has been CBA’s supplier since the formation of the company’s forerunner, the Housing Loans Insurance Corporation, in the 1960s.
The annual financial report for Arch discloses that “in March 2025, the company executed a material agreement with a lender to become their exclusive provider of Lenders Mortgage Insurance, commencing in 2026.
“This agreement is expected to result in an expansion of operations in future financial years.”
Commonwealth Bank has to be the lender Arch is referring to.
In late March ASX-listed Helia disclosed it had been informed by CBA that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with an alternative provider for the provision of LMI services to the CBA group.
“If those negotiations are successful Helia anticipates that Helia’s current supply and service contract with CBA will not be renewed beyond the current expiry on 31 December 2025” Helia said.
Banking Day speculated at the time that Arch must be the new provider.
Arch is almost certainly also the new provider of LMI services to ING Bank Australia.
Helia on Wednesday said it has been informed by ING that it had decided to proceed with negotiations with an alternate provider.
As reported yesterday, the loss of both these contracts led Helia to announce that “the board has commenced a comprehensive business review.
“The review will consider the business response to the expected loss of new business from two significant customers and the broader impact of the recently announced changes to the government’s Home Guarantee Scheme for first home buyers on our operating environment.”
The Home Guarantee Scheme, which applies to first home buyers, is set to be widened following the re-election of the Labor government, further eroding demand for LMI.
Helia’s most likely option is putting the 60 year old business into runoff, though hunting for a buyer will also be in the mix .
Not that there are likely to be many credible buyers – other than Arch, which it set to dominate what remains of Australia’s lenders mortgage insurance landscape, with QBE LMI as a fringe provider.