Top bond insurers of 2019

Assured Guaranty was the top municipal bond insurer of 2019. Assured insured $14 billion in 839 deals for a 58.5% market share, versus $10.52 billion in 597 transactions or 55.6% market share in 2018. The figures are according to Refinitiv and include Assured's subsidiary Municipal Assurance Corp.

The fourth quarter was a busy one as there was a big uptick in issuance. For the fourth quarter alone, Assured was responsible for $5.19 billion in 224 deals and a 62.2% market share.

Assured's internal numbers include the large CommonSpirirt healthcare transaction (Corporate CUSIP), which Refinitiv does not include in its figures, which puts Assured's numbers at $14.7 billion of primary market par, representing 60% of the insured market. In aggregate, Assured Guaranty insured about $16 billion in the primary and secondary market with a total transaction/policy count of 1,232.

According to Assured, in the case of AA credits (defined as those credits that have a “AA” category rating from S&P or Moody’s on an uninsured basis), Assured Guaranty insured 40 deals totaling $1.5 billion of par for the year.

Assured Guaranty insured 34% more primary-market par than in the previous year, despite challenging market conditions caused by historically low yields and narrowing credit spreads. In comparison, the insured municipal market grew by 27%, Robert Tucker, senior managing director of communications and investor relations for Assured said. "We continued to expand its footprint in the healthcare market last year, reflecting our underwriting capabilities, significant capital base and market experience."

This included insuring the largest single insured transaction in nearly a decade: $700 million of CommonSpirit Health’s $6.5 billion transaction was insured. The deal was awarded The Bond Buyer’s Deal of the Year.

Including that transaction, Assured Guaranty insured 22 new issues that each utilized $100 million or more of its insurance, "once again illustrating strong interest in Assured's product among institutional investors."

Assured Guaranty also guaranteed the two largest insured Green Bond transactions on record in 2019, guaranteeing par amounts of $179 million and $204 million for the New York MTA in February and August, respectively.

Build America Mutual accounted for $9.92 billion of insured volume spanning 886 transactions, or 41.5% market share in 2019, compared with $8.41 billion in 655 deals and 44.4% market share in 2018.

For the fourth quarter alone, BAM was responsible for $3.16 billion over the course of 273 transactions and a 37.8% market share.

BAM's internal numbers totaled $10.26 billion and a market share of 42.5%.

“2019 was BAM’s most productive year to date," said Sean McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer of BAM. "Strong investor demand and the second-half surge in new-issue volume combined to allow us to set new records for both primary and secondary market activity, including $933 million of taxable transactions. We posted those results while remaining focused on the essential-purpose issuers that make up the core of the municipal market, and we saw broad demand for BAM’s guaranty within those sectors."

He noted that in the primary market, BAM’s guaranty was used broadly by municipal issuers in 40 states, with more than 80% of the transactions coming from cities and counties, school districts, and water and sewer utilities, and the remainder by issuers who finance transportation, public higher education, and other essential projects.

"In our first full year verifying green bonds under the BAM GreenStar program, we identified 54 transactions totaling $530 million that fund projects that align with the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles," he said. "Overall, there are now more than $62 billion of BAM-insured bonds outstanding, including $825 million of BAM GreenStar bonds.”