U.S. has no plans to aid mortgage insurers: official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department has no current plans to give the ailing mortgage insurance industry an injection of capital under its financial rescue fund, an administration official said on Friday.

"There (are) no current plans to provide funds under the financial stability plan to mortgage insurance companies," the official said.

Mortgage insurers PMI Group (PMI.N), Radian Group Inc (RDN.N) and Genworth Financial Inc (GNW.N) shield mortgage finance companies from borrower default.

Companies specializing in the business have been pressured by the housing downturn and record foreclosures and have requested aid from Washington.

A key business for mortgage insurers is to protect Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N) from the costs of failing home loans. The future of that partnership, though, has been cast in doubt since the Treasury Department effectively nationalized the two government-sponsored enterprises in September.

James Lockhart, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has said that he would like to see mortgage insurance companies receive a capital injection under Washington's financial market rescue plan.

His voice, however, is just one among policy-makers debating how to stabilize financial markets without burdening taxpayers with more costly bailouts.

(Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)