Bond Insurers

Syncora Reports Positive Income for Second Quarter

Defunct bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc. last week reported positive net income for the second quarter, reflecting the broad success of the major restructuring it initiated in July 2009 and completed in April.

N.Y. Court Rejects Credit Suisse Move to Dismiss MBIA Claims

The New York Supreme Court on Monday denied Credit Suisse Securities’ motion to dismiss MBIA Insurance Corp.’s claims of mortgage-related fraud and breach of contract.

Insurer Asks Judge to Order Resumption of Payments Backing Vallejo Bonds

ALAMEDA, Calif. — National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. this week asked the judge handling the Vallejo bankruptcy case to order the resumption of state intercept payments that back one of the California city’s debt issues.

With $16M Loss, 2nd Quarter Wasn’t Kind to FGIC

Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. fell more deeply into the hole in the second quarter as the insolvent bond insurer lost more money on contracts linked to mortgage debt and its statutory deficit continued to widen.

MBIA Talks 2Q Gain; Ambac Still Warns of Bankruptcy

MBIA Inc. chief executive officer Jay Brown told investors Tuesday that the past two and a half years have proven the durability of his company’s balance sheet. Ambac Financial Group, by contrast, continued to warn that it may seek bankruptcy protection as early as 2011.

Ambac Financial Posts 2Q Loss of $57.6M

Insurance holding company Ambac Financial Group reported a net loss in the second quarter, despite big gains in the value of its insured derivatives, and warned that it may be unable to pay its debts in a year.

MBIA Inc. Posts 2Q Net Income of $1.3 Billion

Insurance holding company MBIA Inc. on Monday reported net income of $1.3 billion in the second quarter, but the huge advance reflects mark-to-market gains on insured credit derivatives rather than new business.

Assured: 2Q Earnings Show Comeback

Assured Guaranty Ltd. told investors Friday that its strong second-quarter earnings demonstrate that it is beginning to recover from the after-effects of the recession and financial crisis.

Assured Guaranty Posts Best 2Q Earnings

Assured Guaranty Ltd. late Thursday posted second-quarter earnings that were the insurer’s best since its initial public offering in 2004. The company recorded net income earnings of $203.5 million versus a net loss of $170 million for the same period one year ago.

FGIC Corp. Files for Chapter 11

Holding Company Has $392M of Debt

FGIC Corp., the holding company of beleaguered bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., announced Wednesday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [FREE]

Fairholme Bets Big On MBIA

Berkowitz Sees Insurer’s Upside

Fairholme Capital Management’s motto is “Ignore the Crowd,” and the hedge fund is sticking close to that maxim with its roughly $200 million investment in MBIA Inc. [FREE]

Wisconsin Schools Renege on Depfa Notes

CHICAGO — All five southeastern Wisconsin school districts involved in a failed investment scheme tied to funding their non-pension retiree health care trusts are reneging on their moral obligation pledge to repay asset-backed notes issued by the trusts and sold to Depfa Bank Plc.

Council Set Up to Help Ambac Rehab

Wisconsin insurance commissioner Sean Dilweg has formed a nine-person council of advisers to support his efforts to rehabilitate Ambac Assurance Corp.

Ambac Financial Completes Sale Of RangeMark Financial Services

Ambac Financial Group Inc. Friday completed the sale of RangeMark ­Financial Services, the advisory services company it helped launch.

Bond Insurers

Syncora To Start Payments

NYID Approves Remediation Plan

Syncora Guarantee Inc. on Wednesday will begin paying insurance claims on regularly scheduled payment dates following the approval of its remediation plan by its regulator. [FREE]

Assured Leads Insurers

Industry Still Trying to Find Footing

Assured Guaranty Ltd. continued to dominate bond insurance in the first half of 2010 even as the industry struggled to re-establish itself as an important force in the municipal market, data from Thomson Reuters shows. [FREE]

Assured Sues JPMorgan

Assured Guaranty last week filed a civil suit in New York alleging that JPMorgan, along with Jefferson County, "fraudulently induced" it to provide more than $378 million in insurance coverage for the county's nearly $3.2 billion of variable- and auction-rate sewer warrants.

Bond Insurers

Syncora May Have to Start Paying Claims

Syncora Guarantee Inc. may have to start paying all of its outstanding insurance claims or face rehabilitation or liquidation.

Insurer Ratings at a Glance

Ambac Financial Enters Into Two Debt-for-Equity Exchanges

Ambac Financial Group announced Thursday that it entered into a pair of debt-for-equity exchanges June 11, meaning that it purchased back its own debt by offering debt-holders a stake in the company.

Ambac Policyholders Safe, Moody’s Says

The possible bankruptcy of Ambac Financial Group is unlikely to affect policyholders of its bond insurer subsidiary Ambac Assurance Corp., Moody’s Investors Service said in a report released yesterday.

Credit Enhancement

Bond Insurer Stocks Get Pummeled

It’s been a rough few weeks for the stock market and an even worse period for the stocks of municipal bond insurers.

Ambac Assurance Begins Payout Plans

After receiving court approval two weeks ago, Ambac Assurance Corp. on Monday proceeded with its plan to pay billions of dollars to major financial institutions in exchange for terminating volatile structured-finance products.

NPFG: Affordability a Key Factor in Higher Ed Credits

As families struggle in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and recession, affordability has become a key concern when analyzing private higher education credits, according to a report from National Public Finance Guarantee Corp.