Frederico Responds To Downgrades
Bermuda’s Assured Guaranty Ltd saw its credit rating downgraded two notches yesterday [Nov.30] by Standard & Poor’s, but the cut was smaller than had been threatened and should let the US municipal bond insurer keep guaranteeing public finance debt.
S&P lowered its ratings for Assured operating units, including Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp and Assured Guaranty Corp, to “AA-minus,” its fourth-highest grade, from “AA-plus.” It also downgraded the parent company two notches to “A-minus” from “A-plus.” The rating outlook is stable.
In response to the changes, Dominic Frederico [pictured], president and CEO of Assured Guaranty Ltd. made the following statement:
“This rating action is solely based on S&P’s new criteria for rating financial guaranty companies, as to which we have previously registered our concerns. Despite the higher capital standards, Assured Guaranty has maintained its ratings in the AA category by continuing to execute its capital enhancement strategies.
“Further, the Stable Outlook assigned to our ratings reflects S&P’s recognition of the quality of our insured portfolio, our underwriting discipline, risk management capabilities and strong competitive position. Our AA- Stable ratings result in us maintaining some of the highest S&P ratings for a company in the financial sector.
“We are proud of our record of insuring timely payment of principal and interest when due, protecting the interests of investors and increasing the market liquidity for holders of our insured bonds while continuing to provide issuers broader market access and cost savings,” Mr. Frederico added.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a publicly tradedm, Bermuda-based holding company. Its operating subsidiaries provide credit enhancement products to the US and international public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets.
PLP and term limits causing problems everywhere, as per Bob’s logic that is…go OBA