Bankapedia's Take

Mortgage Insurance gradually developed a terrible reputation to borrowers. While in many cases the mortgage insurance on a loan can be rather negligible, the simple fact that the borrower has a mortgage with MI is often seen as something to be embarrassed about. So, in a crafty marketing move, banks decided to simply price the MI directly into the rate and the borrowers can be happy to know they have an MI-free loan, despite the fact it is a financial wash when compared to the same loan with a lower rate, but with MI.

Countrywide was well known within the mortgage circle for doing this.