Bond insurer Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) has added three new members to its U.S. public finance team.

Chris Chafizadeh, formerly head of the public finance business group at National Public Financial Guarantee (NPFG), has been named Managing Director responsible for new originations in Assured Guaranty’s municipal bond insurance business.

The Company also added two executives to its San Francisco office. Jason Kissane, who previously managed NPFG’s western region, is now Managing Director responsible for western regional business, and Andrew Porges, recently a senior underwriter for NPFG in the western region, has joined Assured Guaranty as a Director.

Mr. Chafizadeh and Mr. Kissane will report directly to Bill Hogan, Senior Managing Director, Public Finance.

Commenting on the new hires, Mr. Hogan said, “We are very pleased to add three strong underwriters to the public finance team. Chris, Jason and Andrew bring a wealth of experience and strong relationships to the company, which will help us expand our municipal bond insurance franchise. We remain committed to providing the best value and service to our customers.”

“It’s very exciting to join the industry leader at a time when investors are seeing clear evidence of the value of bond insurance and municipal issuers cannot afford to pass up any opportunity for savings,” added Mr. Chafizadeh. “Right now, only Assured Guaranty has the track record and financial strength to offer the market what it needs.”

Assured Guaranty provides financial guaranty insurance through Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. and Assured Guaranty Corp., both of which are subsidiaries of Assured Guaranty Ltd. Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides, through its operating subsidiaries, insurance products to the U.S. and international public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets.

More information can be found at www.assuredguaranty.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect the current views of Assured Guaranty Ltd. and its subsidiaries (the Company) with respect to future events and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Company not being able to maintain its competitive position or to expand its insurance franchise, whether due to a lack of demand for bond insurance, the rise of other competitors in the market, the Company not being able to maintain its financial strength ratings, or adverse developments in the Company's insured portfolio that have a negative impact on its financial condition; and other risks and uncertainties that have not been identified at this time, management’s response to these factors, and other risk factors identified in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made as of November 9, 2012. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.