Assured Guaranty Corp. ("Assured”), the financial guaranty subsidiary of
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO), announced today that it guaranteed 136
U.S. public finance new issue transactions totaling $3.3 billion of par
during May 2009. This represents approximately 11.2% of total U.S.
public finance new issue volume during May 2009, up from 8.0% in May
2008. For the first five months of 2009, Assured has guaranteed 10.7% of
U.S. public finance new issue volume.
"Our activity this month and, in particular, after the May 20th
Moody’s credit review announcement, is a testament to the strong value
the public finance market places on Assured’s financial guaranties,”
noted Bill Hogan, Senior Managing Director of Assured’s Public Finance
Group. "All of the deals that were scheduled to close on or after May 21st
proceeded without delay. Since the Moody’s announcement, Assured has
closed a total of 66 transactions representing $1.5 billion in par.”
Several transactions have priced with Assured’s financial guaranty since
May 20, 2009, including a $304 million revenue bond issue for the
Dormitory Authority of the State of New York School District and $110
million in revenue bonds for the Port St. Lucie (Florida) Utility
System. Among the six Build America Bond transactions that Assured
guaranteed in May, four were priced after the Moody’s credit review
announcement including $90 million of housing and auxiliary facilities
system revenue bonds for the South Dakota Board of Regents and $50
million in sales tax bonds for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana that also
included an additional $110 million of insured tax-exempt bonds.
During May 2009, Assured also priced two student loan revenue bond
transactions. The first transaction was for $50 million for the Illinois
Student Assistance Commission and the second transaction was for $210
million for the Maine Educational Loan Authority. The bonds for both
transactions help provide loans to finance the graduate and
undergraduate education of local residents as well as non-residents that
attend schools in those states.
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 markets. Assured Guaranty Corp.
is rated AAA by Standard and Poor’s, Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service
and AA from Fitch Ratings. Assured Guaranty Corp. is licensed in all 50
states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company. Its operating
subsidiaries provide credit enhancement 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 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. 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 ceded by one or more
of our principal ceding 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.
