Kroll Bond Rating Agency Affirms Assured Guaranty Corp.’s AA Financial Strength Rating with Stable Outlook
November 30 2018 - 1:27PM
Business Wire
Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) affirmed its insurance financial
strength rating of AA, with a Stable Outlook, for Assured Guaranty
Corp. (AGC), a financial guaranty subsidiary of Assured Guaranty
Ltd. (together with its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty)(NYSE:AGO)
on November 30, 2018.
In the report, KBRA noted that “AGC’s financial position is
strong” and cited the following key strengths to support its rating
conclusion:
- AGC demonstrates the “ability to
withstand KBRA’s conservative stress case loss assumptions across
AGC’s insured portfolio.”
- AGC’s “substantial and continuing
runoff in higher risk components of the Company’s portfolio.”
- AGC’s “experienced management which
operates with a mature and high-functioning operating platform
supported by strong governance and risk management systems.”
- The Stable Outlook for AGC
reflects “KBRA’s stress case loss analysis which incorporates
significant deterioration in the distressed sectors of AGC’s
portfolio from current performance, which should contribute to
stability if ultimate losses do not approach or exceed these
modeled levels.”
- Additionally, although it acknowledged
that some recent developments may signal a more positive path
forward for Puerto Rico, KBRA’s analysis incorporated high severity
loss assumptions applicable to AGC’s Puerto Rico exposure and also
determined that Puerto Rico ultimate loss recoveries would have to
approach zero to place downward pressure on AGC’s rating.
“Once again, KBRA recognized the strength of AGC’s financial
position, affirming AGC’s AA stable rating. KBRA also conducted a
detailed analysis of AGC’s corporate governance, credit and risk
management processes and consider them reflective of the industry’s
best practices,” said Dominic Frederico, President and CEO of
Assured Guaranty, adding: “KBRA also noted that our leverage ratios
remain at historic lows.”
AGC is part of Assured Guaranty, the leading provider of
financial guaranty insurance. Including AGC and its affiliates, the
group has $12 billion of claims-paying resources. Assured Guaranty
generates approximately $400 million of annual investment income
from its high-quality, fixed-income investment portfolio. On
average, $2 billion of municipal bonds insured by Assured Guaranty
companies trade each week.
AGC affiliates Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM) and
Municipal Assurance Corp. (MAC) are both rated AA+, Stable Outlook,
by KBRA. Additionally, AGC, AGM and MAC are all rated AA with
Stable Outlooks by S&P.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements:
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release
reflect Assured Guaranty’s current views with respect to future
events and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those
resulting from Assured Guaranty’s inability to maintain its current
financial ratings; further actions that the rating agencies may
take with respect to the financial strength ratings of Assured
Guaranty; adverse developments in Assured Guaranty’s insured or
investment portfolio; and other risks and uncertainties that have
not been identified at this time, management’s response to these
factors, and other risk factors identified in Assured Guaranty’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which are made as of November 30, 2018. Assured
Guaranty undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
About Assured Guaranty
Assured Guaranty provides financial guaranty insurance through
Assured Guaranty Corp., which is a subsidiary of Assured Guaranty
Ltd. Assured Guaranty Ltd., is a Bermuda-based holding company that
provides, through its operating subsidiaries, insurance products to
the U.S. and international public finance, infrastructure and
structured finance markets. More information can be found
at: AssuredGuaranty.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005439/en/
Robert Tucker, 212-339-0861Managing Director, Investor Relations
and Corporate Communicationsrtucker@assuredguaranty.com
Media:Ashweeta Durani, 212-408-6042Vice President, Corporate
Communicationsadurani@assuredguaranty.com
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