Tonya Chin

Income improvements among mortgage insurers this year are a credit positive for housing finance agency single family whole loan programs, according to Moody's.

Delinquency and foreclosure rates for single family whole loan programs of housing finance agencies continued to increase during 2012, despite an improved housing market.

Following MBIA Inc.'s recent positive mortgage putback settlements, Moody's Investors Service upgraded its rating and assigned a positive outlook.

As housing finance agencies have found the traditional way to finance affordable mortgage loans increasingly difficult, they have embraced a new pass-through structure to issue bonds.

McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP is continuing its expansion in public finance with the addition of Jonathan Ballan in New York.

California cities have seen some financial improvements, but they will continue to face challenges in the next few years, Moody's Investors Service said in a recent report.

ORIX Public Finance, an investor and proprietary lender to the public and private sector, has hired a new director in its New York office.

Moody's Investors Service said the settlement between MBIA Inc. and Societe Generale is a credit positive for the company and its municipal insurance subsidiary, but still kept their ratings on review for downgrade.

Following National Public Finance Guarantee Corp.'s rating upgraded to A from Standard & Poor's, the company said it's getting closer to returning to the market.

Assured Guaranty reported a significant increase in its operating income and a decrease in its net loss for the first quarter.

MBIA Inc. reported a net loss of $20 million for the first quarter of 2013, substantially lower than its more than half a billion loss reported for the first quarter last year.

Moody's Investors Service said the settlement between MBIA Inc. and Bank of America Corp. is a credit positive for the company and its subsidiaries, but kept their ratings on review for downgrade.

With the last of MBIA Inc.'s reformation litigation resolved, its municipal-only insurer subsidiary could see its rating raised to A by Standard & Poor's.

One of JPMorgan's top public finance professionals has left the department to head the firm's global compliance infrastructure group.

MBIA Inc.'s $1.7 billion settlement with Bank of America Corporation is a big step forward in positioning its municipal-only bond insurer to re-enter the public finance market.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. announced Monday that it has reached a settlement with UBS in a dispute over $1.5 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities transactions.

MBIA Inc. announced it would use the cash from its settlement with Flagstar Bank to repay an intercompany loan, which will help its muni-only insurer in its path toward getting back in the insurance market.

MBIA Insurance Corporation said it will receive $110 million for dropping its mortgage-backed securities lawsuit against Flagstar Bank.

Former Ziegler banker, Romy McCarthy, has joined Piper Jaffray's public finance group as a managing director based out of Milwaukee.

Moody's Analytics, a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation, launched a new CreditView service for the public finance sector.