S&P Upgrades Assured’s Operating Subsidiaries
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised to AA Stable Outlook [from AA- Stable Outlook] the financial strength ratings of bond insurers Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp., Municipal Assurance Corp. and Assured Guaranty Corp., European financial guarantors Assured Guaranty Ltd. and Assured Guaranty Ltd., and reinsurer Assured Guaranty Re Ltd., which are the principal operating subsidiaries of Assured Guaranty Ltd.
Following S&P’s announcement of the upgrades, Dominic Frederico, President and CEO, said, “We are pleased that S&P has recognized the strength of our competitive position and market acceptance along with our extremely strong capital base and our pricing discipline.
“As the proven leader in bond insurance, we have a robust business model and a 30-year track record of service to U.S. and other select financial markets.
“Our model allows us to provide the exceptional value of our insurance to small, medium and large transactions while maintaining our disciplined approach to underwriting, enterprise risk management and pricing.
“And, with our close to $400 million in annual investment income and over $4 billion of unearned premium reserve, we have the resources to remain patient while looking for opportunities that match both our pricing and credit criteria.
“With the upgrades of AGM, MAC, AGE and AGC, no other active guarantor has a higher S&P rating than the AA Stable of our financial guaranty companies, and MAC’s AA+ Stable rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency is the highest rating in our industry from any nationally recognized statistical rating organization.”
