ESNT

Essent Group Ltd.

A provider of private mortgage insurance, Essent Group protects lenders when homebuyers put down less than the usual twenty percent. Its core arm, Essent Guaranty, works with lenders on single-family home loans, letting more people buy homes with smaller down payments. The company was founded in 2008 amid the housing crisis by Mark Casale and his team, launched with fresh capital and free of older firms' risky loans. Its name is a play on "essential"—the protection it calls vital to the housing market.