MBIA Inc. (‘MBIA’), through its subsidiaries, provides financial guarantee insurance to the United States’ public finance markets.
The company’s operating subsidiaries are running off their insured portfolios.
The company’s financial guarantee insurance policies provide investors with unconditional and irrevocable guarantees of the payment of the principal, interest, or other amounts owing on insured obligations when due. National ceased pursuing the writing of new financial guarantee insuranc...
MBIA Inc. (‘MBIA’), through its subsidiaries, provides financial guarantee insurance to the United States’ public finance markets.
The company’s operating subsidiaries are running off their insured portfolios.
The company’s financial guarantee insurance policies provide investors with unconditional and irrevocable guarantees of the payment of the principal, interest, or other amounts owing on insured obligations when due. National ceased pursuing the writing of new financial guarantee insurance policies in 2017, and its primary activity today is to provide ongoing surveillance, including remediation activity where warranted, of its existing insured portfolio of $25.3 billion gross par outstanding as of December 31, 2024. The company has also provided financial guarantee insurance in the international and structured finance markets through its subsidiary, MBIA Corp.
MBIA Services Corporation (‘MBIA Services’), also owned by the company, is a service company that provides support services, such as surveillance, risk management, legal, accounting, treasury, and information technology, among others, to its businesses on a fee-for-service basis.
Insurance Operations
The company’s U.S. public finance insurance portfolio is managed through National, and its international and structured finance insurance portfolios are managed through MBIA Corp. The company does not expect National or MBIA Corp. to write new financial guarantee policies outside of remediation-related activities. The company has been compensated for its insurance policies by insurance premiums that were paid upfront or on an installment basis. The company’s financial guarantee insurance was offered in both the new issue and secondary markets. In addition, the company has provided financial guarantees or sureties to debt service reserve funds.
Because the company generally guarantees to the holder of an insured obligation the timely payment of amounts due in accordance with its insurance policy terms, in the case of a default by an issuer or other triggering event, payments under the insurance policy generally cannot be accelerated against the company unless it consents to the acceleration. In the event of a default, however, the company may have the right, in its sole discretion, to accelerate the obligations and pay them in full. Otherwise, the company is required to pay principal, interest, or other amounts only as scheduled payments come due, even if the holders are permitted by the terms of the insured obligations to have the full amount of principal, accrued interest, or other amounts due declared due and payable immediately in the event of a default.
The company’s payment obligations after a default vary by deal and by insurance type. The company’s public finance insurance generally insures scheduled interest and principal. The company’s structured finance policies generally insure timely interest and ultimate principal; ultimate principal only at final maturity; or, payments upon settlement of individual collateral losses as they occur after any deductible or subordination has been exhausted.
National Insured Portfolio
National’s insured portfolio consists of municipal bonds, including tax-exempt and taxable indebtedness of the U.S. political subdivisions and territories, as well as utilities, airports, health care institutions, higher educational facilities, housing authorities, and other similar agencies, and obligations issued by private entities that finance projects that serve a substantial public purpose. Municipal bonds and privately issued bonds used for the financing of public purpose projects are generally supported by taxes, assessments, user fees, or tariffs related to the use of these projects, lease payments, or other similar types of revenue streams.
As of December 31, 2024, National had $25.3 billion of insured gross par outstanding on the U.S. public finance obligations covering 1,349 policies and diversified among 885 ‘credits,’ which the company defines as any insured obligations secured by the same revenue source.
MBIA Corp. Insured Portfolio
MBIA Corp.’s insured portfolio consists of policies that insure various types of international public finance and global structured finance obligations that were sold in the new issue and secondary markets. International public finance obligations include bonds and loans extended to entities located outside of the U.S., including utilities, infrastructure projects, and sovereign-related and sub-sovereign issuers, such as regions, authorities, or their equivalent, as well as sovereign-owned entities that might be supported by a sovereign state, region, or authority. Global structured finance obligations include asset-backed transactions and financing of commercial activities that are typically secured by undivided interests or collateralized by the related assets or cash flows.
As of December 31, 2024, MBIA Corp. had 153 policies outstanding in its insured portfolio. In addition, MBIA Corp. had 25 insurance policies outstanding relating to liabilities issued by MBIA and its subsidiaries, which are described further under the section ‘Affiliated Financial Obligations Insured by MBIA Corp.’ MBIA Corp.’s total policies in its insured portfolio are diversified among 116 credits.
MBIA Corp. estimated that the average life of its international and structured finance insurance policies in force as of December 31, 2024, is 6 years.
Insurance Regulation
National and MBIA Insurance Corporation are incorporated in and subject to primary insurance regulation and supervision by the State of New York.
The company’s domestic insurance companies are licensed to provide financial guarantee insurance under Article 69 of the New York Insurance Law (the ‘NYIL’). Under Article 69, the company’s domestic insurance companies are permitted to transact financial guarantee insurance, surety insurance, and credit insurance, and such other kinds of business to the extent necessarily or properly incidental to the kinds of insurance, which they are authorized to transact.
During 2024, National and MBIA Insurance Corporation reported single risk limit overages to the NYSDFS due to changes in their statutory capital. National and MBIA Insurance Corporation were in compliance with their aggregate risk limits as of December 31, 2024.
MBIA, National, and MBIA Insurance Corporation also are subject to regulation under NYIL.
As financial guarantee insurers, the company’s domestic insurance companies are required by the laws and regulations of New York and other states to maintain, as applicable, contingency reserves on their municipal bond, asset-backed securities (‘ABS’), or other financial guarantee liabilities, and reflect such reserves in their financial statements prepared in accordance with the U.S. STAT.
History
MBIA Inc. was founded in 1973. The company, a Connecticut corporation, was incorporated in 1986.
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