Veteran public finance attorney and Hunton & Williams partner Dean Pope has agreed to join new bond insurer Municipal and Infrastructure Assurance Corp.'s board of directors as an independent director, the firm announced earlier this week.
Pope, who has more than 35 years of public finance experience, "will provide invaluable guidance on all material issues relating to the new bond insurer," a spokesman said.
MIAC, co-sponsored by the Macquarie Group and Citadel Investment Group, plans to focus on insuring bonds in the primary market, wrapping credits from small school credits to large state issues.
As a member of the public finance community, Pope has served in various industry-wide roles, including as vice chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and president of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. He is currently the vice president of the American College of Bond Counsel and on the advisory council of the NABL.
Pope, a graduate of Yale Law School, also works as an adjunct professor at William & Mary Law School.
MIAC last month received approval from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to participate in a pilot program intended to speed its licensing in 56 member jurisdictions. MIAC, which has billed itself as a private solution to a public problem, last year received its license from the New York Insurance Department.
