Kroll Bond Rating Agency affirmed its insurance financial strength rating of AA+, with a stable outlook, for Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp., a financial guaranty subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd.
In the report, KBRA said AGM demonstrated the ability to withstand KBRA's conservative stress case loss assumptions across the breadth of its insured portfolio and that AGM has a mature and high-functioning operating platform supported by strong governance and risk management systems.
"AGM's tested management team is well positioned to address future portfolio risk issues should they develop given their experience through the credit crisis," said the report. "AGM's substantial and continuing runoff in structured finance components of the company's portfolio, which are down 87% since year-end 2009, should continue to moderate risk."
Dominic Frederico, president and CEO of Assured said that once again, KBRA's rating reflects the high level of protection available to investors in AGM-insured bonds.
"KBRA subjected AGM's insured portfolio to rigorous statistical modeling with elevated levels of assumed economic stress, including case by case stress analysis of our Puerto Rico, residential mortgage-backed and other distressed credits," Frederico said. "They found that, even in this highly unlikely scenario, AGM satisfied all claims in full and on time with a comfortable balance remaining."
