Bond insurance

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.

Build America Mutual, after surviving a credit watch with its double-A rating intact, posted mixed results in the second quarter.

Assured Guaranty Ltd., the largest municipal bond insurer, reported gains in second-quarter profit, boosted by share repurchases and lower reserve additions for Puerto Rico losses.

Assured Guaranty and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP expanded their business even as muni volume shrank amid political uncertainty.

One week after National Public Finance Guarantee was downgraded two-notches by S&P Global Ratings, the bond insurer laid off 29 employees, slashing all of the new-business team.

An appeals court ruling favored a Mississippi county in its dispute with Assured Guaranty.

A deal to restructure $9 billion of Puerto Rico electric debt fell apart as a federal control board rejected the accord Tuesday, pushing the island’s main power utility closer to a potential bankruptcy.