Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) ("Assured Guaranty” or the "Company”)
announced today that, at the Company’s request, Fitch Ratings has agreed
to withdraw its Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) and debt ratings of
Assured Guaranty Corp. ("AGC”), Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp.
("AGM”), Assured Guaranty Re Ltd. and other rated subsidiaries of
Assured Guaranty at the current rating levels.
Dominic Frederico, President and Chief Executive Officer of Assured
Guaranty, said: "We took this initiative following Fitch Ratings’
announcement that it is withdrawing its IFS ratings on all Assured
Guaranty insured bonds for which it does not provide an underlying
rating on the issuer. As Fitch’s action withdrew the bond insurer
ratings on approximately 90% of issuers in AGC’s and AGM’s combined
insured portfolio, we believe the ratings no longer provide the same
value to investors in our insured transactions.
"If, in the future, Fitch’s participation in the municipal bond market
should expand significantly, we would certainly consider renewing our
relationship with them,” Mr. Frederico added.
AGC and AGM each continues to carry Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services
financial strength ratings of AAA (negative outlook) and Moody’s
Investors Service financial strength ratings of Aa3 (negative outlook).
Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a publicly-traded Bermuda-based holding
company. Its operating subsidiaries provide credit enhancement products
to the U.S. and international public finance, infrastructure and
structured finance markets. More information on the Assured Guaranty
family of companies can be found at www.assuredguaranty.com.
