LONDON, Jun 30, 2008 (PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX News Network) -- Leading financial security company, Genworth Financial has launched the
first ever index measuring consumer financial vulnerability. The Genworth
Index is being introduced at a time when consumers face an uncertain future:
with UK house prices suffering their first annual fall for 12 years and
inflationary pressure from rising food prices and utility bills squeezing
household income.

Genworth developed the index in partnership with the European Credit
Research Institute (ECRI) and the Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC) at
the University of Bristol. The Index presents the share of survey respondents
in a given country who feel financially vulnerable relative to the share who
feel financially secure. It was calculated using comparative data from ten
European countries.

"The development of this index is an important step for Genworth as we
work in partnership with thought leaders to develop common solutions to some
of the most important issues consumers face today.

"With the financial environment changing at such a rapid pace, this first
reading of the Index provides an important baseline from which to track any
shift in consumer financial vulnerability or security," said David Lane,
regional manager for Western Europe at Genworth.

"The Index scores are calculated from consumers' past experiences and
future expectations. With these being influenced by factors such as
employment prospects and general economic conditions in a country, the second
reading of the Index, which is due in early Autumn 2008, will be especially
interesting."

In this first reading of the Index, Great Britain ranks 7th out of 10 in
terms of financial vulnerability.

The data collected to help construct the Index and accompanying reports
reveal that in Great Britain:

- 6% of households are financially vulnerable and feel that their
situation is unlikely to improve

- 14% feel financially secure and expect their situation to improve

- 48% of households have experienced financial difficulty to some degree

- 9% of households are regularly unable to pay bills on the final
reminder

- 7% of households are constantly struggling or falling behind

Genworth plans to add further countries to the Index as part of its
commitment to share local insights into the markets in which it operates.
Full copies of the accompanying reports are available from
http://www.genworth.co.uk.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth is a leading insurance holding company, serving the lifestyle
protection, retirement income, investment and mortgage insurance needs of
more than 15 million customers across 25 countries. For more information,
visit http://www.genworth.com.

Contact Information:

Media: Guy Genney, +44(0)208-380-3786, guy.genney@genworth.com

Media: Guy Genney, +44(0)208-380-3786, guy.genney@genworth.com

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