Only a flash, but CNBC were reporting at lunchtime on Friday that eight banks have clubbed together to bailout the monoline bond insurance industry, including: Citi, UBS, Wachovia, RBS, SocGen, BNP Paribas, and Dresdner.
Interesting that these are largely European names. More detail to follow, possibly…
Update: Shares of Ambac rose 11.7 percent to $13, while MBIA shares rose 14.2 percent to $17.70 in pre-market trading.
Update2: The 8-bank plan announced on Friday looks like it’s a bailout for AMBAC only, not MBIA. So it isn’t a industry-wide bailout. Details from the FT here.