Moody’s Upgrades Assured Guaranty’s Ratings
21 März 2022 - 11:30AM
Business Wire
AGM Upgraded to A1 - Stable Outlook
Report Cites Improved Credit Profile Following
Resolution of Puerto Rico G.O Exposure along with Favorable Trend
in U.S. and European Demand for Financial Guaranty Insurance
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) (together with its
subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty) announced that Moody’s Investors
Service (Moody’s) upgraded to A1 from A2 the insurance financial
strength ratings of Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM) and its
subsidiary Assured Guaranty UK Limited (AGUK). The outlooks are
stable.
In its rating action report, Moody’s cited as part of its
ratings upgrade rationale the following:
- “The upgrade of Assured Guaranty and its subsidiaries reflects
their improved credit profiles following the resolution of the
group’s exposure to the general obligation bonds issued by the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and limited expected volatility among
its remaining Puerto Rico exposures.”
- “Demand for financial guaranty insurance continues to trend
favorably, both in the United States and Europe, which supports the
continued alignment of interests between Assured Guaranty’s
shareholders and its policyholders and creditors.”
- Resumed growth of AGM’s insured portfolio which is “expected to
support the firm’s earnings profile going forward, particularly
without the drag of loss and loss adjustment expenses incurred on
defaulted Puerto Rico exposures over the past several years.”
Additionally, Moody’s cited AGM’s “strong capital profile,
conservative underwriting of US municipal and international
infrastructure finance risks and leading market position in the
financial guaranty sector…. AGM’s ability to organically generate
significant capital through premium and investment earnings make
its credit profile resilient to a broad range of stress
scenarios.”
In response to the upgrade, Dominic Frederico, President and CEO
of Assured Guaranty, said: “We are pleased that Moody’s has
upgraded AGM’s and AGUK’s ratings and recognized the expanding
demand for bond insurance and AGM’s strong capital profile and
resilient business model, as well as that we are at a turning point
in terms of our growth after a long period of reducing legacy
exposures. AGM performed well and remained well capitalized
throughout the pandemic, as it had during the Great Recession and
other economic shocks. Assured Guaranty continues to offer a
uniquely beneficial value proposition to both issuers and fixed
income investors. With the cloud of our Puerto Rico exposure
largely lifted and the capital markets experiencing increased
volatility and rising interest rates, AGM is poised to continue
growing its insured portfolio to sustain and increase its store of
unearned premiums, its future earnings power and its financial
strength.”
Additionally, Moody’s upgraded the long-term issuer rating of
Assured Guaranty Ltd. to Baa1 from Baa2 and also announced upgrades
to the senior and junior subordinated debt ratings of Assured
Guaranty US Holdings Inc. and Assured Guaranty Municipal Holdings
Inc. The outlook for all the ratings is stable.
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,
difficulties executing Assured Guaranty’s business strategy; those
risks and uncertainties resulting from changes in rating agency
models or opinions; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Assured
Guaranty’s insured portfolio and business as well as the future
course of the pandemic; whether Assured Guaranty will be able to
continue to increase the net par amount of its insured portfolio;
the impact on Assured Guaranty of any actions by the Oversight
Board in Puerto Rico and any future resolution of additional Puerto
Rico credits under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and
Economic Stability Act, any action Assured Guaranty may take in
future related to its Puerto Rico exposure, any related litigation,
the timing of any potential resolutions to such credits, and the
future course of the Puerto Rico’s economy and its ability and
willingness to pay its debt in the future; adverse credit
developments in other portions of Assured Guaranty’s insured
portfolio and the impact of those developments on rating agency
models and opinions; 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 March 21, 2022. 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.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a publicly traded (NYSE: AGO)
Bermuda-based holding company. Through its subsidiaries, Assured
Guaranty provides credit enhancement products to the U.S. and
international public finance, infrastructure and structured finance
markets, and also provides asset management services. More
information on Assured Guaranty Ltd. and its subsidiaries can be
found at AssuredGuaranty.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220321005317/en/
Investor Relations: Robert Tucker, 212-339-0861 Senior Managing
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
rtucker@agltd.com Media: Ashweeta Durani, 212-408-6042 Vice
President, Corporate Communications adurani@agltd.com
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