Two bond insurance subsidiaries of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO)
(together with its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty) have made interest
payments to holders of insured general obligation (GO) and other bonds
after Puerto Rico and certain of its instrumentalities failed to pay on
January 3, 2017. The table below lists the total interest payments due
January 1 (payable January 3) from Puerto Rico issuers on bonds insured
by Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM) and Assured Guaranty Corp.
(AGC), and the total expected gross and net claim payments by Assured
Guaranty for the bonds that defaulted. Assured Guaranty’s subsidiary
Municipal Assurance Corp. (MAC) has no insured exposure to Puerto Rico.
As always, investors owning Puerto Rico-related bonds insured by Assured
Guaranty will continue to receive uninterrupted full and timely payment
of scheduled principal and interest in accordance with the terms of
Assured Guaranty’s insurance policies. The bond trustee, paying agent
or, in the case of secondary market policies, custodian files a claim
with Assured Guaranty on behalf of the bondholders, and therefore no
action is required on the part of investors to receive their scheduled
debt service payments. Once Assured Guaranty receives a filed claim, it
makes the claim payment directly to the relevant bond trustee, paying
agent or custodian, who then distributes the funds in the same manner as
when paid by the issuer. Under its standard municipal bond insurance
policy, Assured Guaranty makes its claim payment no later than one
business day after it receives the claim, but not before the payment due
date.
Also on January 3, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) made
the full interest payment due on its bonds insured by Assured Guaranty,
and no insurance claims were filed in respect of such bonds.
“While the outgoing Puerto Rico administration has once again chosen to
violate Puerto Rico’s constitution by ignoring the senior payment
priority securing the Commonwealth’s GO bonds, we look forward to
working with the new administration, PROMESA Oversight Board and other
creditors to achieve consensual restructuring agreements that respect
the constitutional, statutory, contractual and property rights of
creditors while also supporting the island’s economic recovery,” said
Dominic Frederico, President and CEO of Assured Guaranty.
“We were pleased that PREPA made its bond interest payment, and we
continue to join PREPA and the other participating creditors in seeking
implementation of the consensual restructuring contemplated by the PREPA
restructuring support agreement,” he continued.
Assured Guaranty estimated the claims shown in the table below and was
prepared to process claims efficiently, once they were received.
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Interest Due January 1, 2017 on Assured Guaranty Insured Bonds
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and Claims Expected to Be Paid
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($ in millions)
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Payment Due From
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Claims Assured
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Obligor on
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Guaranty Has
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Assured Guaranty
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Paid or Expects to
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Insured Bonds
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Pay (Gross
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(Gross Interest)
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Interest)
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Commonwealth Constitutionally Guaranteed
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Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (General Obligation)1
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$40
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$39
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Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority (PBA)
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5
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5
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Public Corporations - Certain Revenues Subject to Clawback
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Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (PRHTA -
Transportation)
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25
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0
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Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (PRHTA - Highway)
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15
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0
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Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority (PRCCDA)
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3
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0
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Puerto Rico Infrastructure Financing Authority (PRIFA)
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<1
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<1
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Other Public Corporations
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Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)
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18
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0
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Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA)
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10
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0
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Puerto Rico Municipal Finance Agency (MFA)
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1
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0
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Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation (COFINA)
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0
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0
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University of Puerto Rico (UPR)
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0
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0
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Gross Total
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$116
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$44
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Expected Reimbursement from External Reinsurers and Other
Reimbursements
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-3
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Estimated Net Claims to be Paid
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$42
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No principal payments were due on January 1, 2017. Some amounts
may not add due to rounding.
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1. Includes second-to-pay policies on which no claims are expected.
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Data is as of January 4, 2017 and is subject to adjustment. As of
January 4, 2017, of the $44 million of total expected claims, Assured
Guaranty received $43 million of claim notices, all of which have been
processed in full. For any obligor where amounts were due but no claims
are expected, the payments were made by the obligor from its available
funds or reserves.
With $12 billion in claims-paying resources across its group of
companies and approximately $400 million generated each year from its
$11 billion investment portfolio alone, Assured Guaranty’s liquidity and
capital position are very strong. This is further evidenced by looking
at S&P’s capital model, where Assured Guaranty estimates that its excess
capital was more than $2.6 billion above S&P’s AAA requirement as
of year-end 2015.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect
Assured Guaranty’s current views 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, those resulting from adverse
developments in Puerto Rico or at any of its instrumentalities, an
inability or failure of creditors and the Commonwealth to implement a
consensual restructuring, litigation that has already been initiated or
may be initiated in the future, governmental or legislative action or
inaction by Puerto Rico or the United States, other risks and
uncertainties that have not been identified at this time, management’s
response to these factors, and other risk factors identified in Assured
Guaranty’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 January 4, 2017. Assured Guaranty
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.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a publicly traded Bermuda-based holding
company. Its operating subsidiaries provide credit enhancement products
to the U.S. and international public finance, infrastructure and
structured finance markets. More information on Assured Guaranty Ltd.
and its subsidiaries can be found at AssuredGuaranty.com.