Assured Guaranty disputes rating downgrade

Assured Guaranty announced that it intends to dispute its ratings downgrade from Moody’s, which reduced its insurance financial strength rating to Baa1 (stable outlook) for Assured Guaranty Re.

According to the rating agency, the downward reassessment reflects Assured’s troubled business franchise, expected future profitability and financial flexibility. Moody’s said of the downgrade: “Assured operates in an industry that has not recovered from the financial crisis and, like its peers, will continue to struggle in the face of declining fundamentals, including a dramatic reduction in insurance usage, modest profitability and still-meaningful legacy risk.”

Dominic Frederico, president and chief executive officer of Assured Guaranty, said on Friday: “we are confident about our ability to serve our markets and build our business based on our proven value proposition and our track record of solid performance. We also have confidence that, irrespective of Moody’s action, informed issuers and investors understand our true strength and the value our guaranty provides.”