•  a more rapid than expected decrease in the current elevated levels of mortgage insurance rescissions and claim denials,  which have reduced our paid losses and resulted in a significant reduction in our loss reserves, including a decrease in  net rescissions or denials resulting from an increase in the number of successful challenges to previously rescinded  policies or claim denials, or caused by the government-sponsored entities intervening in mortgage insurers’  loss  mitigation practices, including settlements of disputes regarding loss mitigation activities; •  the negative impact that our loss mitigation activities may have on our relationships with customers and potential  customers, including the potential loss of business and the heightened risk of disputes and litigation;  •  the need, in the event that we are unsuccessful in defending our rescissions, denials or claim curtailments, to increase  our loss reserves for, and reassume risk on, rescinded loans or denied claims, and to pay additional claims, including  amounts previously curtailed; •  any disruption in the servicing of mortgages covered by our insurance policies, as well as poor servicer performance; •  adverse changes in the severity or frequency of losses associated with certain products that we formerly of fered (and  which remain in our insured portfolio) that are riskier than traditional mortgage insurance or financial guaranty  insurance policies; •  a decrease in the persistency rates of our mortgage insurance policies, which has the ef fect of reducing our premium  income; •  heightened competition for our mortgage insurance business from others such as the FHA, the U.S. Department of  Veterans Affairs and other private mortgage insurers, including in particular , those that have been assigned higher  ratings than we have, that may have access to greater amounts of capital than we do, or that are new entrants to the  industry and are therefore not burdened by legacy obligations;  •  changes in the charters or business practices of, or rules or regulations applicable to, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the  largest purchasers of mortgage loans that we insure, and our ability to remain an eligible provider to both Fannie Mae  and Freddie Mac; •  changes to the current system of housing finance, including the possibility of a new system in which private mortgage  insurers are not required or their products are significantly limited in ef fect or scope; •  the effect of the Dodd-Frank  Act on the financial services industry in general, and on our mortgage insurance and  financial guaranty businesses in particular , including whether and to what extent loans with private mortgage insurance  may be considered “qualified residential mortgages” for purposes of the Dodd-Frank  Act securitization provisions;  •  the application of existing federal or state laws and regulations, or changes in these laws and regulations or the way  they are interpreted, including, without limitation: (i) the resolution of existing, or the possibility of additional,  lawsuits or investigations (including in particular investigations and litigation relating to captive reinsurance  arrangements under the Real Estate Settlement Practices  Act of 1974); and (ii) legislative and regulatory changes  (a) impacting the demand for private mortgage insurance, (b) limiting or restricting the products we may of fer or  increasing the amount of capital we are required to hold, (c) af fecting the form in which we execute credit protection,  or (d) otherwise impacting our existing businesses; •  the amount and timing of potential payments or adjustments associated with federal or other tax examinations; •  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 instruments in determining gains and losses on these instruments; •  volatility in our earnings caused by changes in the fair value of our assets and liabilities carried at fair value, including  our derivative instruments; 4