Good morning. I am Ian MacDonald, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited. I would like to welcome you to our 2022 annual general meeting of shareholders. It is now 11:00 A.M., and I have been informed that the necessary quorum of shareholders is present at the meeting attending by virtual means. I therefore declare the meeting open. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are again holding a virtual AGM to allow us to meet with you today in a way that ensures everyone's safety and well-being. The Notice of Meeting dated March 29th, 2022 has been circulated to members, and I will take the Notice of Meeting as read.
The Notice of Meeting and the virtual AGM online guide that were released on ASX and posted on our website set out meeting procedures to enable attendance and participation in this meeting by virtual means. You can find my address as chairman and the CEO's address on our website. They were also released to the market prior to the commencement of this meeting. Before I proceed with my address and the formal business of the meeting, I would like to introduce my fellow directors. Gai McGrath, Chairman of the Risk Committee, Andrea Waters, Chairman of the Audit Committee, Duncan West, Chairman of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee, Gerd Schenkel and Alistair Muir. Pauline Blight-Johnston, our Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, is also present at the meeting.
Prudence Milne, our General Counsel and Company Secretary, is also present, and is Brady Weissel, our Assistant Company Secretary, who is here to assist with meeting procedures. Julia Gunn, the company's Audit Partner at KPMG for the 2021 year, is also present at the meeting. Ms. Gunn is available to answer questions in relation to the conduct of the audit, the auditor's report, the company's accounting policies, and the independence of the auditor. I will now outline the procedures for today's meeting. In a moment, I will present my address as Chairman, and then I will invite Pauline to present the CEO's address. Once those presentations have been concluded, I will open the meeting to general questions.
There will also be an opportunity to ask specific questions on the financial report, remuneration report, and each of the resolutions to be voted on today as we come to those items of business. At the end of general questions, we will then move to the formal business of the meeting, including any questions and voting on each of the resolutions to be put to the meeting today. For shareholders and proxy holders attending the meeting, if you have a question that you would like to ask today, there are two ways to do so. Firstly, shareholders and proxy holders attending the meeting through the online platform will be able to ask questions and cast their vote once they have registered for an electronic voting card, which will validate your shareholding.
Shareholders who wish to submit a question, please click on the Ask a Question box, select what your question relates to, type your question, and click Ask a Question, and follow the prompts. There is a limit of 532 characters for written questions. To ensure you have enough time to type and submit your question, I encourage you to start typing now instead of waiting until later in the meeting. You will need to obtain an electronic voting card and validate your shareholding before you can ask a question. Online questions that are relevant to the business of this meeting will be read aloud to me by Brady. The second way is to ask a question by phone. To do so, you must enter your unique PIN, which could have been obtained from Link Market Services on request prior to the meeting.
If you don't have a phone PIN and would like to ask a question over the phone, please contact Link on 1800 990 363 now to receive a PIN. After you have dialed in, you will be asked to mute your computer and listen to the meeting by phone. If you wish to ask a question, press star one. The moderator will ask you your name and will introduce you to the meeting at the relevant time. Please then unmute your phone and ask your question. We will first take questions from shareholders using the online platform and then take questions received over the phone. We will save asking each question until a relevant item of business.
Even though we are meeting by virtual means, I strongly encourage shareholders to participate in the meeting by submitting their general questions as well as any questions they may have on specific items of business. The online platform and phone are now both open for you to submit questions. You can submit questions at any time up to and during question time for the item of business to which your question relates. All questions you submit will be placed in a queue, and I will respond to those questions when we reach the relevant part of the meeting. We may aggregate questions if we receive multiple questions on the same topic. If you experience any technical issues or difficulties using the online platform, a helpline number is displayed at the top of the page. Please ring 1800-990-363.
If we experience any technical issues today, a short recess or an adjournment may be required depending on the number of shareholders being affected. If this occurs, I shall advise you accordingly by way of a market announcement, which will be noted on our website. Shareholders, proxy holders, and guests who have registered to watch the meeting will be notified via text. Link Market Services is the Returning Officer for this meeting. I will now update you on the key achievements of the company over the past year. Genworth has been helping Australians, excuse me, to achieve the dream of homeownership for over half a century. With each new generation we have served, the dream of homeownership hasn't changed, and yet it feels more out of reach than ever before.
Today, as we continue to deliver our purpose of accelerating financial well-being through homeownership, our support has never been more important or relevant. These extraordinary last few years have only exacerbated the affordability crisis, and with interest rates already rising, we are taking our role in the future of homeownership very seriously. Over the past year, we have continued to drive our growth strategy. We have increased focus on differentiating our LMI offering, and we are uncovering new opportunities and new ways to help Australians into homes. I am seeing our momentum build, and I'm confident that we are well-positioned to remain the leading choice for flexible homeownership solutions, and that we will continue to deliver strong results for our customers and you, our shareholders. With every policy we write, we are delivering on our purpose to accelerate the financial well-being of Australians now and for the future.
Over the past year, as the housing market outpaced the financial ability of many to save a deposit, Genworth has supported more than 72,000 Australians to buy a home. As of December 2021, Genworth had over 1.1 million policies in force, with insurance in force of AUD 304.5 billion. For Genworth, enabling homeownership means supporting our customers to help people get into homes and keep them in their homes, even through times of hardship. In the past decade, Genworth is proud to have assisted almost 80,000 borrowers experiencing hardship by working with our lenders on delivering loan deferrals and restructures.
This past year, Genworth has continued to include pandemics in our hardship policy, extended support to our lender customers in managing natural disasters, such as the recent floods across New South Wales and Queensland, approved 8,134 hardship requests to assist borrowers who are experiencing difficulties, including those impacted by COVID-19, and remained sensitive to individual borrower circumstances, working closely with our lender customers to offer appropriate hardship solutions to Australians in need and to mitigate potential losses. We've also doubled our previous community spend to help our charity partners protect and support at-risk members of our community during another difficult year for delivering community programs on the ground. To successfully deliver our growth vision and operate our business in a sustainable manner, we must integrate the right environmental, social, and governance factors as a critical part of Genworth's culture, operations, and strategy.
To guide our approach to sustainability, we have recently developed a new ESG framework to set more ambitious targets, monitor our progress, and report transparently on our ESG initiatives. Our focus areas for the future will include financial well-being and housing accessibility, good corporate citizenship, and climate resilience. As a national LMI provider, we play an important role in understanding the impact of climate change on the housing market and sharing these insights with our customers and the wider community. We are seeing our lender customers increasingly focus on climate-related risks and opportunities, especially potential impacts on insurance claims and affordability. We are committed to working with our customers, along with all our stakeholders, to better manage the short and long-term physical and transition risks of climate change.
We are pleased to have recently made the first step to becoming net zero by committing to the development of a carbon- neutral roadmap. While we know there is still a long way to go for our business in this space, we are making genuine steps forward in prioritizing sustainability for Genworth. Turning now to our capital position. Dividend payments, with the renewal of key lender customers increased confidence regarding the likely impacts of COVID-19 and a very strong financial performance, the board was pleased to resume dividend payments to shareholders in 2021. This included a total dividend payment of AUD 0.29 per share, comprising of a first half 2021 unfranked interim ordinary dividend of AUD 0.05 per share, a fully franked final ordinary dividend of AUD 0.12 per share, and a fully franked special dividend of AUD 0.12 per share.
As we stated in February, the second half 2021 ordinary dividend was declared at a level that the board expects will be sustainable over the medium term. On December 8, we also commenced an on-market share buyback of Genworth shares up to a maximum aggregate value of AUD 100 million. This decision was made to bring Genworth's solvency ratio more in line with the board's target capital range. The expiry date of this current buyback has been extended from May 31st to June 30th, 2022 to allow more time for completion subject to market conditions.
As of Tuesday this week, we have bought back AUD 59.4 million worth of shares, and today we are seeking approval to allow us to undertake an additional on-market share buyback of up to AUD 60 million of the company's issued ordinary shares, subject to necessary approvals, including APRA and board approval. The on-market share buyback is consistent with Genworth's objective to improve the efficiency of a capital structure and help us to deliver improved return to shareholders. As we announced to the market this morning, Genworth's board has approved a new target capital range of 1.4-1.6 times APRA's prescribed capital amount. As you will be aware, the board's previous target capital range was 1.32-1.44 times PCA. However, we typically operated above this range, often substantially so.
With the move to the new range, it is the board's intent to operate within that range at most points in time, and we will be continuing our capital management activities with the intent to return capital to within the new target range within the next two years. Since listing in 2014, Genworth has paid AUD 2.57 per share through ordinary and special dividends and has bought back AUD 675 million of shares through on-market buybacks. Despite this return to shareholders, our PCA ratio has generally remained above the top end of the board's target range. Our new capital management target range strikes what we believe is an appropriate balance between ensuring the business is well capitalized and delivering returns to shareholders.
It will help us enable the business to pay claims and remain above our regulatory and ratings agency capital requirements across a broad range of future economic scenarios. It will also support the delivery of our business and strategic growth plans while returning ongoing value to shareholders. Where we have excess capital, as we do today, we are committed to returning capital to shareholders as quickly and as efficiently as possible. The new board members we have welcomed in the past year have been carefully selected for their future- fit skills and capabilities to help drive success on Genworth's growth strategy. Alistair Muir and Gerd Schenkel were appointed as new independent non-executive directors to the Genworth board on December 1st, 2021.
Alistair brings extensive technology and digital transformation experience, while Gerd has over 25 years of experience in business innovation and strategy in the financial services and telco industries. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Graham Morabito and David Foster, who stepped down from the board in August 2021 and March 2022 respectively. Both made great contributions to the company during their tenure, and I thank them for their service and time they have dedicated to Genworth. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow directors for their continued support and contribution to our company. Pauline Blight-Johnston, Genworth's Chief Executive Officer, has also invested in new leadership talent over the past year.
To complement her existing management team, Pauline has built an impressive mix of diverse expertise, capability, and experience, which will help to drive the change and innovation needed to successfully deliver on our goals. Already, we have seen this team deliver strong financial results and capital management actions, increased operational efficiencies with the introduction of agile ways of working and identified new growth opportunities for future exploration. We expect to see the team continue this results-driven trajectory over the coming years. I would like to thank Pauline and Genworth's management team for their commitment to delivery and for driving future momentum for our business.
I'm pleased to report that following the sale by Genworth Financial, Inc., or GFI, of its shares in Genworth Australia in March 2021, 100% of the systems and service previously provided by GFI have now been transitioned, and the link to GFI was cut on March 5th this year. As we focus on Genworth's future, we have taken this unique transition opportunity to significantly invest in technology infrastructure and operational enhancements. These enhancements will play a vital role in transforming our new innovation ideas into efficient, integrated products and solutions for our customers. As a result, we are well-positioned to continue our focus on improving the efficiency and competitiveness of Genworth's core LMI business while delivering our strategic growth agenda for the future. Later this year, we'll be presenting you with a brand new brand name for Genworth.
This will formally conclude the transition and marks an exciting new chapter for our business. Our Enhance, Evolve, Extend strategy was implemented to ensure that Genworth, a trusted and successful LMI provider, maintains its edge and continues to make impact in a rapidly changing housing market. I'm not alone in feeling the momentum we are generating within our growth strategy. Lender customers are paying attention to our product innovations, our team is excited by the opportunities we see for the future, and shareholders are benefiting from a strong financial performance and a renewed commitment to capital management.
As 2022 continues, Genworth remains focused on enhancing our LMI offering through strengthened customer relationships and a continued focus on efficiency, evolving LMI by introducing innovative products and solutions to meet the needs of our lender customers and borrowers, and extending our offering in market to diversify our business, creating new ways to accelerate financial well-being through homeownership and delivering attractive long-term returns for shareholders. I would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your ongoing support. I would also like to thank our employees for all your hard work and commitment to Genworth and for your tireless dedication to our customers in a challenging operating year. I would like to once again thank Pauline for her energy, leadership and determination to deliver Genworth's purpose and success. I will now hand over to Pauline.
Thank you, Ian, and good morning, everyone. I'm Pauline Blight-Johnston, Genworth's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Before I commence, I'd like to acknowledge the Cammeraygal people of the Eora Nation, on whose land we're hosting our meeting today. I pay my respects to the Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today. When I started with Genworth just over two years ago, I was drawn to the great potential I saw in the business, its relevance to struggling homebuyers, its resilience in times of hardship, and its responsibility as an important contributor to the Australian housing market. Just over two years later, Genworth's impact and potential has surpassed my expectations. I'm proud to be leading our talented team as we deliver our purpose to accelerate financial well-being through homeownership now and for the future.
It's been an exceptional year for our core LMI business to the benefit of our customers, shareholders, and the community we serve. As Ian shared, in 2021, we wrote 72,000 new LMI policies. This means we've helped to facilitate 72,000 first-home buyer milestones, investment properties or upgrades for growing families. Through LMI, Genworth is making real, meaningful impact as we help Australians overcome financial barriers to saving for a home. We are accelerating financial well-being through homeownership. We're helping people to realize their dreams. Customer-centric innovation is driving our growth efforts to enhance and evolve our LMI business and to develop new and meaningful opportunities to improve the home- buying experience for Australians. We know that purchasing a home can often feel overwhelming and complicated.
This is why we're focused on helping our lender customers to better equip buyers with the information and tools they need to navigate the process and to harness the value of LMI to get them into homes sooner. Genworth delivered an outstanding financial performance for the full year ended December 31 2021. We reported a statutory net profit after tax of AUD 193 million, underpinned by an underwriting result of AUD 296 million. Gross written premium decreased 2.2% to AUD 550 million. However, underlying volumes grew 9.3% when adjusted for the NAB contract loss in 2020. Net earned premiums increased 18.8% to AUD 371 million. Our full- year 2021 results reflect the supportive economic environment and an unusually strong housing market.
Responsible financial management through the economic volatility of COVID-19 and the strategic and operational enhancements we've been making over recent years. Last week, we released a first- quarter activity update demonstrating the continued strength of our business into 2022. Genworth's net earned premium has remained strong due to high gross written premium in recent years and continuing high levels of cancellations. Following the historically high growth rates we experienced last year, we've seen lower gross written premium in 2022 compared with the first quarter of 2021, consistent with the industry-wide slowdown of lending growth. The early part of 2022 has seen a continuation of the subdued claims environment we experienced in 2021. Delinquencies and paid claims remain low, which when combined with further releases of our loss reserves, resulted in a negative net claims incurred outcome for the first quarter.
This has once again delivered a very strong underwriting profit result for the quarter. Net profit was somewhat lower as it was adversely impacted by unrealized mark-to-market losses on the bond portfolio due to rising interest rates. Looking towards the remainder of the year, most commentary suggests we will see interest rates continuing to rise, house price growth slowing with potential for modest declines in some markets, and unemployment staying strong. Given this expected economic environment, delinquencies are predicted to gradually increase and claims incurred are likely to return to more normal levels. Improved borrower equity arising from recent house price growth should provide a helpful buffer for homeowners and for our business as we enter this environment.
While rising bond yields have caused short-term investment losses in the last six months, the higher interest- rate environment is expected to result in improved investment returns in the medium term. I'm pleased that over the last 12 months, we've continued to effectively navigate the impacts of the pandemic in our community, supporting our lender customers and their borrowers through hardship while maintaining a strong financial position. Our capital position provides us with the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, withstand a wide range of future claims outcomes, and to deliver on our business growth strategy while returning value to shareholders. We were pleased to recommence capital management during the year with a total dividend payment of AUD 0.29 over the year and a AUD 100 million on-market share buyback, which is well underway.
With, we hope, the worst of COVID behind us, the board has recommitted to actively managing Genworth's capital into the new target range of 1.4x-1.6x PCA as quickly as we can do so efficiently, thereby delivering improved expected returns on equity to shareholders over the coming years. It's been great to watch momentum building across both our financial and customer outcomes. In a competitive market, we were delighted to retain all lender customer contracts up for renewal in 2021. We were also successful in winning all competitive tenders, including the continuation of our more than 50-year relationship with our largest customer, the Commonwealth Bank, as their exclusive LMI provider through to December 2025. We achieved an outstanding Net Promoter Score of +75 as rated by our lender customers.
This is an exceptional result across any sector, and these achievements are an encouraging indicator that our differentiated LMI proposition, service delivery, and product innovation is making an impact across our customer network. In 2021, we continued to invest in the diversity and inclusiveness of our workforce. We submitted our first reconciliation action plan to Reconciliation Australia, and we're very pleased to once again be recognized as an employer of choice for gender equality for the seventh year running. We've supported our people through the continued disruptions of the pandemic and multiple lockdowns, which saw people continuing to work flexibly during the year. Like many businesses, we've embraced a hybrid working model to offer flexibility and long-term work-life benefits to our people.
Through all this, our people continued to provide the highest level of support to our business, our customers, and each other through the challenges of this past year. I would genuinely like to thank everyone at Genworth for their tireless adaptability and commitment. For over 50 years, Genworth has been providing LMI as a critical pathway for people to achieve the dream of owning their own home. With a 20% deposit increasingly out of reach for many Australians, these people could be otherwise financially excluded from homeownership were it not for the services we offer. Our customer-centric innovation is ensuring that LMI continues to meet the evolving needs of homebuyers, therefore delivering ongoing success for our lender customers and our business.
In 2021, we continued to roll out our monthly premium product to lender customers, reducing upfront costs for homebuyers, thus offering more flexibility and choice when purchasing a property. We also launched Family Assistance, a new LMI offering that helps families to navigate those difficult conversations that can arise in connection with the increasingly popular Bank of Mum and Dad. Our Family Assistance solution makes it easier for families to support the next generation of homebuyers to overcome the increasingly challenging deposit- gap and to positively impact the financial well-being of the entire family unit. Innovating for the next generation of homeowners, increasing housing affordability challenges, new technology, and changing borrower needs are requiring more flexible homeownership solutions. While LMI remains a trusted option to fast-track homeownership for many Australians, we know that it may not appeal to everyone.
That's why, as we continue to enhance and deliver LMI solutions to meet the needs of homebuyers today, we also have our minds set on how we can expand our business to offer a range of flexible homeownership solutions for the future. In partnership with OSQO, we're looking to develop a shared deposit- gap funding product to provide an alternative pathway to homeownership to sit alongside our existing LMI solution. Together, we're working towards having a proof of concept this year. We're also exploring other opportunities for Genworth to play a role in helping Australians at all stages of life use the equity in their homes to enhance their overall financial well-being. By pursuing these initiatives and innovating new LMI offerings, we are investing in the future of homeownership solutions for borrowers and our lender customers while creating long-term value for shareholders. Our purpose at Genworth is deeply personal.
We all know someone who has struggled with purchasing the home of their dreams, which is why we are so committed to helping people overcome these struggles and get into homes sooner. I'm proud of what we've achieved to date, and I'm excited by the momentum we're building in our business for our customers and the future generation of homeowners. Thank you once again to Ian and the board, the Genworth leadership team, and to all our people at Genworth for your hard work. Thank you to our lender customers for trusting us to deliver for you and your borrowers. Finally, I'd like to thank you, our shareholders, for your ongoing support as we build our business by accelerating financial well-being for all Australians through homeownership now and for the future. I'll now hand back to Ian for the formal business of the meeting.
Thank you, Pauline. At this time, I would like to give shareholders attending the meeting live through the online platform an opportunity to ask any general questions they may have using the online platform or the phone. As previously mentioned, shareholders who wish to ask a question online, please click on the Ask a Question box, select what your question relates to, type your question, and click Submit Question. Alternatively, you can use the personalized pin to ask a question over the phone. I will now pause briefly for shareholders to submit any general questions they may have.
Chairman, we have received a question from Leroy Song, a shareholder. This question is for Ian MacDonald. The current risk margins held are the highest in the last 12 years, implying uncertainty is as high as it has ever been. What in your mind justifies this record- high risk margin, and will it be reviewed at the upcoming actuarial valuation?
Thank you. Yes, our risk margin is at the highest level it has been. We adjusted the risk margin at the onset of the pandemic. Economic forecasts then were quite dire, and the last two years have been unprecedented. What I would say is that the outcome of the last two years has been a lot more favorable to the company than was originally expected, and that is a good thing. We think as a board that we're in an environment where the future is still uncertain. Our claims experience has been quite benign, but we know that will catch up to us at some stage. We also know that we're facing an inflationary environment and an interest rate increasing environment where our future is still quite a challenge.
The second part of your question, will we be assessing the risk margin in the upcoming reviews? We always assess the risk margin, so that will be constantly under review. But at this stage, we are keeping it where it is because we think that the future is still very uncertain.
Chairman, we've received another question from Leroy Song, a shareholder. This question is for Pauline. From Genworth's latest annual report, you are forecasting AUD 100 million of claim payments in 2022, up from AUD 40 million in 2021. Given macro conditions are emerging consistent with economic forecasts, do you still expect to pay AUD 100 million in claims this year? And can you provide some color on year-to-date 2022 claim payments versus year-to-date 2021?
You mean, you're happy for me to take that one, Ian?
Please, Pauline.
Thank you, Leroy. As we've said in our results and again this morning, last year was an extraordinarily light year for claims for us, following from the deferral programs and of course the moratoriums on claims. It was always our expectation that that would continue into the early part of this year, and throughout the course of the year, we would see claims begin to build, returning to levels that are closer to more normal by the end of the year. That's still our expectation and of course the indications about the economy confirm that as well. What we're seeing is still consistent with all of that.
You'll see from our first- quarter return that again, we had extraordinarily light claims experience in the first quarter, and our net claims outcome was negative again for the quarter, which was lighter than in the first quarter of 2021. At this point in time, we've seen no evidence to question our underlying premise that the claims will increase over the course of the year or to cause us to update our forecasts. If we do start to see that, of course, we will do so.
Chairman, there are no further general questions on the online platform at this time.
Thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
There are no phone questions at this time.
Thank you. There being no further general questions, I will briefly run through some formalities for voting at this meeting. If you did not cast your vote prior to the meeting, you may cast a live vote using the online platform. Please click Get a Voting Card and follow the prompts. You may cast your live vote at any time during the meeting. Shareholders eligible to vote or their appointed proxies will be able to cast a vote by using the electronic voting card on their screen. The voting card will remain accessible until the voting is closed. Live voting on the online platform will close five minutes after the close of the meeting. At the conclusion of the AGM, you will see a red bar appear along the top of the online platform with a countdown timer of how long you have remaining to cast your vote.
You must be logged into the online platform to cast a live vote. Once voting is closed, all voting cards will automatically be submitted and cannot be changed. You cannot cast a vote over the phone. Shareholders who were not able to attend the meeting had the option of casting a direct vote or alternatively appointing a proxy. As a significant number of our shareholders vote by proxy and direct voting, we have received proxy votes or direct votes in respect of around 66%-67% of our total shares. We consider it appropriate to recognize the votes both of these, those attending the meeting today and those who have voted by proxy or direct vote. Accordingly, a poll will be called for each resolution. All items of business will be voted on by poll.
I now declare the poll open. After each resolution has been moved, we will then display the proxy and direct votes that have been cast prior to the opening up of the meeting to any questions before voting takes place. The results of the poll will be declared and released to ASX as soon as possible after the meeting is concluded. As stated in the Notice of Meeting and on the voting form you each received, where I, as chairman, have been appointed as proxy with a discretion as to how to vote, as a proxy holder, I intend to vote all such shares in favor of all resolutions. There are four resolutions to be voted on today, and an opportunity will be given to shareholders to ask questions about each of the resolutions.
The first item of business is the receipt and consideration of the company's annual financial report, directors report, and auditors report for the year ending December 31 2021. The reports were contained in the 2021 annual report, which was released on ASX and Genworth's website in February, and hard copies sent to those shareholders that requested a hard copy of the annual report. I will take those reports as read. There is no vote for this item, but I welcome questions submitted through the Ask a Question box on your screens or over the phone. Ms. Julia Gunn, our Audit Partner from KPMG, is available to answer any specific questions you may have about the conduct of the audit. I confirm there have been no questions submitted in writing to the auditor prior to the meeting.
I will respond to any questions specifically relating to remuneration when we come to the resolution on the remuneration report. I will now pause briefly for shareholders to submit any questions they may have on this item of business using the online platform or over the phone.
Chairman, there have been no questions received through the online platform in relation to this item of business.
Thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. There being no more questions, we will move to the first resolution. The first resolution relates to the company's remuneration report for the financial year ended 31st December 2021. The remuneration report, which forms part of the director's report, was released on ASX and Genworth's website and sent to shareholders on request, so I will take the report as read. Further details about the resolution were also contained in the explanatory notes that accompanied the Notice of Meeting. I remind shareholders that this vote is advisory only and is not binding on the company. However, please be assured the board does take into consideration the feedback we receive from shareholders. Before putting the resolution, I would like to advise shareholders that the company will disregard any votes, as stated in the voting exclusion statement related to resolution one, as set out in the Notice of Meeting.
The directors unanimously recommend that shareholders vote for the resolution. I now put resolution one, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen, along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I will now pause briefly for shareholders to ask any questions on this resolution by submitting them through the Ask a Question box or over the phone.
Chairman, there have been no questions received through the online platform in relation to this resolution.
Thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
There are no questions at this time.
Thank you. There being no more questions, we will move to voting on resolution one. To submit a full vote in respect of all your shares, please ensure you are in the Full Vote tab and record your vote by clicking either the For, Against, or Abstain box against resolution one on your electronic voting card. To submit a partial vote, please ensure you are in the Partial Vote tab. You will then be able to enter the number of shares you would like to vote for the resolution. The total amount of votes you're entitled to vote will be listed under each resolution. If you are a proxy holder and have only directed votes for and/or against, please submit your vote by clicking either the For or Against box against resolution one.
If you're a proxy holder with open votes, you need to click either the For, Against, or Abstain box against resolution one to indicate how you wish to cast any open votes. I will pause briefly while you cast your vote. I will now move to resolution two, relating to the grant of share rights to the Genworth Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Pauline Blight-Johnston. Shareholder approval is being sought for all purposes, including for the purpose of ASX Listing Rule 10.14, to grant to the company's CEO and Managing Director, Pauline Blight-Johnston 500,527 share rights in the company under the Genworth Australia Share Rights Plan. Subject to shareholder approval, the share rights will be issued to Ms. Blight-Johnston as soon as practical following the meeting.
The grant of share rights under the Share Rights Plan will allow Ms. Blight-Johnston to obtain ordinary shares in the company. Further details about the resolution and the terms and conditions of the grant of share rights were contained in the explanatory notes that accompanied the Notice of Meeting. Before putting the resolution, I would like to advise shareholders that the company will disregard any votes as stated in the voting exclusion statement related to resolution two as set out in the Notice of Meeting. The directors recommend that shareholders vote for the resolution. I now put resolution two, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen, along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I will now pause briefly for shareholders to ask any questions on this resolution by submitting them through the Ask a Question box or over the phone.
Chairman, there have been no questions received through the online platform in relation to this resolution.
Thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
There are no questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we will move to voting on resolution 2. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution. Please record your vote by clicking the for, against, or abstain box against resolution 2 on your voting card. Thank you. I will now move to resolution 3 relating to approval of further possible on-market share buyback. Shareholder approval is being sought for the purposes of Section 257C of the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth), and for all other purposes, to approve the company buying back up to 60 million of the company's issued ordinary shares, representing approximately 14.9% of the company's issued shares as of the date of the Notice of Meeting.
In the form of one or more on-market share buybacks to be conducted over a period of up to 12 months from the date of the 2022 annual general meeting. This approval is in addition to any shares that have been or may in the future be bought back by the company under the on-market buyback announced to the ASX on November 23rd, 2021, which is being conducted in circumstances where shareholder approval is not required in accordance with the Corporations Act. The directors recommend that shareholders vote for the resolution. I now put resolution 3 and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen, along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution.
I will now pause briefly for shareholders to ask any questions on this resolution by submitting them through the Ask a Question box or over the phone.
Chairman, there have been no questions received through the online platform in relation to this resolution.
Thank you. I'll now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
There are no questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we will move to voting on resolution three. The voting instructions are the same for the previous resolution. Please record your vote by clicking the for, against, or abstain box against resolution three on your electronic voting card. Thank you. I turn now to resolution four, the re-election of Duncan West as a director. Duncan was appointed to the Genworth board on September 1st, 2018 and elected at the 2019 AGM. He has over 35 years of insurance industry experience, having held senior executive positions at Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc, Promina Group Limited, CGU Insurance Limited, and MLC Limited. Duncan is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, and a senior associate of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance.
Holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Hull in the UK. Duncan is also currently a director of Suncorp Group Limited and Challenger Limited. Duncan is the Chairman of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee and a member of the Risk Committee and of the Audit Committee. A brief summary of Duncan's experience and qualifications are set out on page 13 of the Notice of Meeting. The re-election of Duncan is unanimously recommended by all the other directors of Genworth. I'd like to invite Duncan to say a few words.
Thanks, Ian, and good morning, fellow shareholders. It's been a pleasure to be able to serve you as a director for the last three years. I joined the Genworth board because I'm passionate about the role that we can play in helping Australians get into the housing market. Over the last three years, we have collectively worked our way through COVID-19, which has had such an enormous impact on both the community and your company. During this time, I have served as Chair of the Capital and Investments Committee and now as Chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. I have sought to bring my deep experience of insurance and business more broadly to bear to the many complex judgments and decisions we have had to make. I hope that I have helped to contribute to the strong position Genworth finds itself in.
If reelected today, I commit myself to continuing to serve in the best interests of you, our shareholders, and all our stakeholders. Thank you, and back to you, Ian.
Thank you, Duncan. I now put resolution 4, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen, along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I will now pause briefly for shareholders to ask any questions on this resolution by submitting them through the Ask a Question box or over the phone.
Chairman, there have been no questions received through the online platform in relation to this resolution.
Thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
There are no questions at this time.
There being no more questions, we will move to voting on resolution 4. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution. Please record your vote by clicking the for, against, or abstain box against resolution 4 on your electronic voting card. I now move to resolution 5, the election of Alistair Muir as a director. Alistair was appointed to the board on December 1st, 2021. Alistair is a member of the Risk Committee, the Audit Committee, and of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. Alistair has extensive experience in technology, digital transformation, and fintech. He is an experienced digital executive and entrepreneur with a focus on growing and scaling digital businesses. Alistair has worked with and advised companies and government departments on artificial intelligence and innovation, including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and other publicly funded research institutes.
Alistair holds a first-class honors degree in computer science from the Dublin Institute of Technology and attended both Harvard Business School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of an executive education focusing on disruptive strategy, innovation, and the business applications of artificial intelligence. Alistair is also a non-executive director of Humm Group Limited. A brief summary of Alistair's experience and qualifications is set out on page 14 of the Notice of Meeting. The election of Alistair Muir is unanimously recommended by all the other directors of Genworth. I now ask Alistair to say a few words.
Thanks, Ian, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I recently joined the Genworth board because I'm passionate about helping Australians get into the property market sooner, and especially Genworth's role in making housing more affordable for younger generations. My background is in growing and scaling digital businesses, and I have extensive experience in financial services and fintech. As the chairman mentions, I've also worked with a broad range of ASX and Fortune 500 companies to successfully launch new digital ventures and products. I'm excited by the growth opportunities for Genworth, and I believe I can add significant value to the Genworth board as the organization pursues new areas of growth, and specifically through our evolve and extend strategic pillars. Thank you.
Thanks, Alistair. I now put resolution 5, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen, along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I will now pause briefly for shareholders to ask any questions on this resolution by submitting them through the Ask a Question box.
Chairman, there have been no questions received through the online platform in relation to this resolution.
Thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
There are no questions this time.
There being no questions, we will move to voting on resolution five. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution. Please record your vote by clicking the for, against, or abstain box against resolution five on your voting card. Thank you. I now move to resolution six, the election of Gerd Schenkel as a director. Gerd was appointed to the board on December 1st, 2021. Gerd is a member of the Risk Committee, the Audit Committee, and of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. Gerd has over 25 years' experience in business innovation, having established Telstra Digital, Telstra's enterprise-wide digital team and digitalization program and having founded UBank for National Australia Bank. Other previous roles have included strategy and innovation roles in various Australian financial services institutions.
Gerd is a management consulting partner with Kearney, a global consultancy based in Sydney, where he advises large organizations in financial services and telecommunications on their technology, digital, and analytics agendas. Gerd holds a Master of Science from University of Stuttgart, a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, and attended University of Sydney as a visiting scholar focusing on robotics. A brief summary of Gerd's experience and qualifications is set out on page 15 of the Notice of Meeting. The election of Gerd Schenkel is unanimously recommended by all the other directors of Genworth. I now ask Gerd to say a few words.
Thank you, Chair, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm honored to stand for election to your board. I agreed to join the Genworth board as I feel that I can contribute to the further growth and development of the company, especially in areas related to digital and technology. Genworth has many wonderful assets, and our lender partners and their customers are looking to us for additional products and services. I bring to the board my experience as a business builder and executive skills from my time at National Australia Bank and Telstra, as well as my consulting skills from my time at the Boston Consulting Group and my current role as a partner at Kearney. Thank you.
Thank you, Gerd. I now put resolution 6, and the wording for this resolution appears on your screen, along with the proxy and direct votes received in relation to this resolution. I will now pause briefly for shareholders to ask any questions on this resolution by submitting them through the Ask a Question box.
Chairman, there have been no questions received through the online platform in relation to this resolution.
Thank you. I will now take questions on this item of business received over the phone.
At this time.
Thank you. There being no questions, we will move to voting on resolution 6. The voting instructions are the same as for the previous resolution. Please record your vote by clicking the for, against, or abstain box against resolution 6 on your voting card. Thank you. Is there any other business pertaining to their shareholding that a member wishes to bring before the meeting? If so, please submit your question through the Ask a Question box.
Chairman, there is no other business to be brought before the meeting.
Thank you. As there is no other business to be brought before the meeting, at this time, I would like to ask shareholders to finalize and submit their electronic voting cards. Poll results will be released to the market via the Market Announcements Platform and will be available on the Genworth website as soon as possible, which is expected to occur later today. Before I close, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the holding of this meeting. I now declare the meeting and poll closed, and thank you for your attendance at the 2022 annual general meeting of Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited. I look forward to meeting with you all again and in the meantime, please stay safe and healthy. Thank you.