Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) announced today that its Board of Directors authorized the purchase of up to four million shares of Radian's common stock on the open market. Under this new program, share purchases may be made from time to time depending on market conditions, share price and other factors. The purchases will be funded from available working capital.

In addition, Radian announced today that the company's Board of Directors approved a regular quarterly dividend on its common stock in the amount of $0.02 per share, payable on March 23, 2006, to stockholders of record as of February 17, 2006.

Radian Group Inc. is a global credit risk management company headquartered in Philadelphia with significant operations in both New York and London. Radian develops innovative financial solutions by applying its core mortgage credit risk expertise and structured finance capabilities to the credit enhancement needs of the capital markets worldwide, primarily through credit insurance products. The company also provides credit enhancement for public finance and other corporate and consumer assets on both a direct and reinsurance basis and holds strategic interests in active credit-based consumer asset businesses. Additional information may be found at http://www.radian.biz.

All statements made in this press release that address events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made on the basis of management's current views and assumptions with respect to future events. The forward-looking statements, as well as Radian's prospects as a whole, are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the following: changes in general financial and political conditions such as extended national or regional economic recessions (or expansions), changes in housing values, population trends and changes in household formation patterns, changes in unemployment rates, changes or volatility in interest rates, or other political instability; changes in investor perception of the strength of private mortgage insurers or financial guaranty providers, and risks faced by the businesses, municipalities or pools of assets covered by Radian's insurance; the loss of a customer with whom Radian has a concentration of its insurance in force; rising delinquencies in mortgage loans insured by Radian resulting from increased consolidation of mortgage lenders and servicers; increased severity or frequency of losses associated with certain Radian products that are riskier than traditional mortgage insurance and municipal guaranty insurance policies; material changes in persistency rates of Radian's mortgage insurance policies; downgrades of Radian's credit ratings or the insurance financial-strength ratings assigned by the major ratings agencies to Radian's operating subsidiaries; heightened competition from other insurance providers and from alternative products to private mortgage insurance and financial guaranty insurance; changes in the charters or business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the application of existing federal or state consumer lending, insurance and other applicable laws and regulations, or unfavorable changes in these laws and regulations or the way they are interpreted or applied, including: (i) the possibility of private lawsuits or investigations by state insurance departments and state attorneys general alleging that services offered by the mortgage insurance industry, such as captive reinsurance, pool insurance and contract underwriting, are violative of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and/or similar state regulations (particularly in light of public reports that some state insurance departments may review or investigate captive reinsurance arrangements used in the mortgage insurance industry), or (ii) legislative and regulatory changes affecting demand for private mortgage insurance or financial guaranty insurance; the possibility that we may fail to estimate accurately the likelihood, magnitude and timing of losses in connection with establishing loss reserves for our mortgage insurance or financial guaranty businesses or to estimate accurately the fair value amounts of derivative financial guaranty contracts in determining gains and losses on these contracts; changes in accounting guidance from the SEC or the Financial Accounting Standards Board regarding income recognition and the treatment of loss reserves in the mortgage insurance or financial guaranty industries; changes in claims against mortgage insurance products resulting from the aging of Radian's mortgage insurance policies; vulnerability to the performance of Radian's strategic investments; changes in the availability of affordable or adequate reinsurance for our non-prime risk; and international expansion of our mortgage insurance and financial guaranty businesses into new markets and risks associated with our international business activities. Investors are also directed to other risks discussed in documents filed by Radian with the SEC, including the factors detailed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 in the section immediately preceding Part I of the report. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of the date of this press release. Radian does not intend to and disclaims any duty or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect new information, future events or for any other reason.

Source: prnewswire