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’How badly do you want EFSF first-loss protection?
The EFSF has opened the kimono a little on how it would work as a sovereign bond insurer. Answers from an updated investor Q&A — especially interesting ones have been bolded by us:
E11 – What will be the scope of the protection under option 1 [credit enhancement]?
The partial protection certificate will cover a portion of the principal value of the bond.
Your deterrent is my bluff
Two revealing quotes on the EFSF insuring sovereign debt…
The first, via the WSJ:
“It is a system we already know functions well and could encourage foreign investors to come back to the euro zone,
EFSF – A very European monoline
What the world needs, what Europe needs, is clearly another monoline.
On Tuesday, the WSJ broke the news that a proposal by Allianz for the EFSF to act as a bond insurer was gaining traction. This would enable the firepower of the bailout fund to go from €440bn to something in the region of €3,000bn.
It’s official: Ambac files for Chapter 11
Not with a bang, but a whimper.
Emphasis FT Alphaville’s:
Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) (Ambac or the Company) announced today that it has filed for a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (“Bankruptcy Court”).
Bond insurer blow-up fallout, Las Vegas Monorail edition
Some excellent reporting from Bloomberg on the side effects of Ambac’s part-seizure by its regulator – and for once, for the story has nothing to do with credit default swaps.
Here’s Bloomberg:
March 29 (Bloomberg) — Holders of bonds sold by the Las Vegas Monorail Co.
It’s official: Ambac’s CDS triggered
It’s the event Ambac thought would never, ever come:
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) announced that its Americas Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee resolved that a bankruptcy credit event has occurred in respect of Ambac Assurance Corporation,
Ambac inches closer to the inevitable
Ambac, the bond insurer that warned in November it was rapidly running out of cash, has brought in Blackstone to advise on a restructuring strategy, according to Reuters.
The news agency, citing sources,
The unenviable, uncertain future of the bond insurance industry
One of the most common criticisms of the financial media unleashed during the Not So Great Depression was “you didn’t warn us about [insert little known company, acronym, structured product or dubious form of home loan,
MBIA accuses Credit Suisse of ‘pervasive and material misrepresentations’
The battle between the bond insurers and the investment banks — as regards who knew what about mortgage-backed securities — intensified on Monday.
MBIA, once the mightiest of the monolines, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan court against Credit Suisse that accuses the bank of making “fraudulent misrepresentation”
Bond insurer death watch, FGIC edition
According to the investor relations section of the website of FGIC, the bond insurer part-owned by PMI Group and Blackstone:
FGIC provides irrevocable and unconditional guaranty of timely payment of principal and interest on the securities it insures.
Ambac attack!
On Wednesday bond insurer Ambac stunned investors with what looked like good news.
Ambac Assurance Corp., the main operating branch of the Ambac Financial Group, had been expected by many to reveal a breach of its minimum capital requirement when the company published its third-quarter 8-K this week.
Ambac stuns investors with good news
Ambac, the bond insurer which has warned that it faced possible bankruptcy, cheered its shell-shocked shareholders on Wednesday when it announced that its statutory capital remained well above the minimum set by regulators.
Ambac warns of bankruptcy risk
The train wreck that is the bond insurance industry always provides interesting headlines. MBIA, once the sector’s leading light, on Monday reported a $728m loss for the third quarter of 2009. Ambac, its long-time rival,