MBIA & Ambac Losses Raise Concern Over AAA Ratings
Ambac posted a loss last month of $1.66 billion for Q1, its third in a row.
MBIA yesterday reported a $2.4 billion first-quarter loss, also its third quarterly loss in a row.
S&P yesterday said it remained "circumspect about assigning stable outlooks to insurers" because of "the unprecedented level of mortgage market deterioration."
Today, rating agency Moody's:
MBIA and Ambac had "meaningfully" higher losses on home-equity loans and collateralized debt obligations than anticipated, raising concern about their Aaa status,
Moody's said this has raised "existing concerns about capitalization levels relative to the Aaa benchmark."
Raising the question whether the mortgage slump will "have material implications for the estimated capital adequacy of financial guarantors most exposed to this risk."
MBIA yesterday reported a $2.4 billion first-quarter loss, also its third quarterly loss in a row.
S&P yesterday said it remained "circumspect about assigning stable outlooks to insurers" because of "the unprecedented level of mortgage market deterioration."
Today, rating agency Moody's:
MBIA and Ambac had "meaningfully" higher losses on home-equity loans and collateralized debt obligations than anticipated, raising concern about their Aaa status,
Moody's said this has raised "existing concerns about capitalization levels relative to the Aaa benchmark."
Raising the question whether the mortgage slump will "have material implications for the estimated capital adequacy of financial guarantors most exposed to this risk."
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