Moody's affirms Assured Guaranty

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the Aa3 senior unsecured rating of Assured Guaranty US Holdings, Inc. and the Aa3 issuer rating of the ultimate holding company, Assured Guaranty Ltd.

The outlook is stable.

The affirmation reflects Moody's assessment of the capital adequacy and strengthened market position of Assured Guaranty Corp. and Assured Guaranty Reinsurance Ltd. In the agency's opinion, the current level of stress in the market has benefited Assured's business prospects relative to many of its peers, who have experienced a decline in market share in light of credit concerns over large ABS collateralized debt obligations and mortgage exposures.

As a relatively recent entrant into the direct financial guaranty arena, Assured Guaranty Corp.'s municipal market penetration has been substantially lower than its larger competitors. More recently, however, the company has improved the diversity of its insured portfolio by writing an increasing proportion of its new business in the municipal sector and continues to take advantage of the current environment by generating high-quality business in all segments at historically strong premium rates, the agency said. AG Re has also benefited from today's environment as primaries seek high-quality reinsurance for capital relief.

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