Assured Guaranty Corp. Announces 36% Increase in U.S. Public Finance New Issue Par Insured for First Quarter 2009.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Assured Guaranty Corp. ("Assured" or "the Company"), the financial guaranty subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AGO), announced that it insured 426 U.S. public finance new issue transactions totaling $9.3 billion of par insured, up 36% compared to first quarter 2008. Assured's first quarter 2009 par insured represented 11.1% of first quarter 2009 U.S. public finance new issue, compared to 8.1% in first quarter 2008. The number of transactions guaranteed by Assured more than doubled versus the prior year period, during which Assured issued guaranties on 203 transactions totaling $6.9 billion of par insured. "Our extensive due diligence Research; analysis; your homework. This term has caught on in all industries, because it sounds so "wired." Who would want to do analysis or research when they can do due diligence. See wired. and stringent underwriting standards exemplify our cautious approach to providing credit guaranties in the current environment," commented Bill Hogan, Senior Managing Director of Assured's Public Finance Group. "The transactions that we guarantee have met the highest underwriting standards, which utilize extensive economic stress-testing. Our guaranty of those bonds provides municipal bond investors with double-edged protection of both the investment grade underlying bond rating and Assured's financial strength and stability." Assured also announced that the Company provided guaranties on 136 U.S. public finance new issue transactions in March 2009 totaling $3.2 billion in par insured. Assured increased the number of transactions insured by 74% over March 2008, when the Company insured 78 new issue transactions. Assured Guaranty Corp. is a leading provider of financial guaranty insurance in the U.S. and international public finance, structured finance and mortgage-backed securities Mortgage-backed securities (MSBs) Securities backed by a pool of mortgage loans. markets. Assured Guaranty Corp. is rated triple-A (stable) by Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. Inc. and Standard & Poor's and Aa2 (stable) by Moody's Investor Service. Assured Guaranty Corp. is licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). and Puerto Rico. Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company. Its operating subsidiaries provide credit enhancement Credit Enhancement A method whereby a company attempts to improve its debt or credit worthiness. Notes: Credit enhancements take many different forms. An example of a credit enhancement would be conversion rights added on to a debt instrument in order to lower the issuing products to the U.S. and international public finance, structured finance and mortgage markets. More information can be found at www.assuredguaranty.com. Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are made pursuant to the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. For example, the Company's forward-looking statements, including its statements regarding the volume of the public finance business, could be affected by a significant reduction in the amount of reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. ceded by one or more of our principal ceding cede tr.v. ced·ed, ced·ing, cedes 1. To surrender possession of, especially by treaty. See Synonyms at relinquish. 2. companies, rating agency action such as a ratings downgrade, difficulties with the execution of the Company's business strategy, contract cancellations, developments in the world's financial and capital markets, more severe or frequent losses associated with products affecting the adequacy of the Company's loss reserve, changes in regulation or tax laws, governmental actions, natural catastrophes, the Company's dependence on customers, decreased demand or increased competition, loss of key personnel, technological developments, the effects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, changes in accounting policies or practices, changes in general economic conditions, other risks and uncertainties that have not been identified at this time, management's response to these factors, and other risk factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. |
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