Assured Guaranty sees Q3 profit surge from CIFG buy

Assured Guaranty has seen its Q3 net income soar, partially because of its acquisition of CIFG Holding.

Assured Guaranty's net income in the third quarter was $479 million, an increase of 271.3 percent from the $129 million it reported for the same period of 2015.

The increase in net income was attributed to Assured Guaranty's acquisition of CIFG, which resulted in a $357 million bargain-purchase gain offset in part by a loss on settlement of pre-existing reinsurance relationships of $98 million (pretax) or $64 million (after tax).

Assured Guaranty’s net earned premiums for the third quarter were $231 million, up from $213 million in Q3 2015.

“Our third quarter results were excellent,” said Dominic Frederico, president and CEO.

”We earned $479 million in net income and $508 million of operating income, and we increased shareholders’ equity, operating shareholders’ equity and adjusted book value by $3.64, $4.03 and $4.48 per share, respectively.

“At the same time, we continued to execute on our strategic objectives, leading the municipal bond insurance industry in originations, making further progress on our acquisitions and returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.”