Bond insurance

The largest municipal bond insurer said third-quarter net income fell 57% due to an increase in loss reserves for Puerto Rico hurricane damage.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Assured Guaranty retained their positions in third-quarter rankings, while Build America Mutual rebounded from a stint on negative credit watch to capture its typical market share.

The bond insurers withdrew their challenge of the island's fiscal plan, citing Hurricane Maria.

Robert Lamb of Lamont Financial Services is a veteran of municipal turnaround efforts in Connecticut.

Sean McCarthy, CEO of Build America Mutual, talks about the state of the municipal bond insurance industry, what has changed since BAM was founded five years ago, and how much exposure it has to the areas affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Assured Guaranty and Build America Mutual presented city and state officials with an alternative to bankruptcy.

Although the damage of Hurricane Irma nearly doubles the exposure for two bond insurers from where it was after Hurricane Harvey, there is no rating concern for any of the three guarantors, with the impact of Hurricane Maria looming.

Bond insurers wrap $13.6 billion in bonds in areas devastated by Hurricane Harvey and analysts are still adding up their exposure in Irma’s wake.

Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp., a subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd., and Wasmer, Schroeder & Company announced the closing of AGM's acquisition of a minority interest in WSC on Wednesday.

Although market conditions and a still relatively low interest rate environment continue to hamper the bond insurance industry, there continue to be encouraging signs including a slight uptick in the insurance penetration rate.