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Business Developments and Risks and Uncertainties | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2014
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Business Developments and Risks and Uncertainties | MBIA Inc. and Subsidiaries Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) Note 1: Business Developments and Risks and Uncertainties Summary MBIA Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, (collectively, “MBIA” or the “Company”) operates one of the largest financial guarantee insurance businesses in the industry and is a provider of asset management and advisory services. These activities are managed through three business segments: United States (“U.S.”) public finance insurance; structured finance and international insurance; and advisory services. The Company's U.S. public finance insurance business is primarily operated through National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation and its subsidiaries (“National”), its structured finance and international insurance business is primarily operated through MBIA Insurance Corporation and its subsidiaries (“MBIA Corp.”), and its asset management and advisory services business is primarily operated through Cutwater Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries (“Cutwater”). Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to “MBIA Corp.” are to MBIA Insurance Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, MBIA UK Insurance Limited (“MBIA UK”) and MBIA Mexico S.A. de C.V. MBIA Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries also manage certain other business activities, the results of which are reported in the corporate, asset/liability products, and conduit segments. The corporate segment includes revenues and expenses that arise from general corporate activities. While the asset/liability products and conduit businesses represent separate business segments, they may be referred to collectively as “wind-down operations” as the funding programs managed through those businesses are in wind-down. Refer to “Note 10: Business Segments” for further information about the Company's reporting segments. Business Developments National Ratings and New Business Opportunities National's ability to write new business and compete with other financial guarantors is largely dependent on the financial strength ratings assigned to National by major rating agencies. During the first six months of 2014, Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) upgraded National to a rating of AA- with a stable outlook, Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody's”) upgraded National to a rating of A3 with a stable outlook, and subsequent to June 30, 2014, Moody's affirmed National's A3 rating and changed the outlook to negative. In addition, Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned National a AA+ insurer financial strength rating with a stable outlook. National seeks to generate shareholder value through appropriate risk adjusted pricing; however, current market conditions and the competitive landscape may limit National's new business opportunities and its abilities to price and underwrite risk with attractive returns. Refer to “Risks and Uncertainties” below for a discussion of business risks related to National's strategy. MBIA Corp. Strategic Initiatives During the six months ended June 30, 2014, the Company continued to focus on the collection of excess spread and put-back recoveries and the mitigation of MBIA Corp.'s high risk insurance exposure, primarily through terminations of insurance policies. During the six months ended June 3 0, 2014, MBIA Corp. commuted $3.9 billion of gross par exposure, primarily comprising structured commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) pools, commercial real estate (“CRE”) collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), and first-lien residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”). The difference between the fair values of the Company's derivative liabilities for the commuted policies and the aggregate cost of the commutation was reflected in earnings for the six months ended June 3 0, 2014. Risks and Uncertainties The Company's financial statements include estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. The outcome of certain significant risks and uncertainties could cause the Company to revise its estimates and assumptions or could cause actual results to differ from the Company's estimates. While the Company believes it continues to have sufficient capital and liquidity to meet all of its expected obligations, if one or more possible adverse outcomes were to be realized, its financial position, results of operations and cash flows, and its insurance companies' statutory capital, could be materially and adversely affected. The discussion below highlights the significant risks and uncertainties that could have a material effect on the Company's financial statements and business objectives in future periods. U.S. Public Finance Market Conditions The majority of National's new business is expected to be in the general obligation, tax-backed and revenue bond sectors. In addition to the new issue market, there are attractive opportunities in the secondary market with respect to bonds issued in recent years which were not insured upon issuance and which currently meet National's underwriting criteria. Nonetheless, as a result of intense competition and the diminished use of financial guarantee insurance in the municipal finance market, among other factors, there can be no assurance that National will be able to write business that generates attractive returns. Financial guarantee insurance competes in nearly all instances with the issuer's alternative of foregoing insurance and paying a higher interest rate. If the interest savings from insurance are not greater than the cost, the issuer will generally choose to issue bonds without insurance. Prevailing interest rate levels can affect demand for financial guarantee insurance. Higher interest rates and higher levels of issuance of new municipal debt would present new business opportunities for National in the U.S. public finance market. Lower interest rates are typically accompanied by narrower spreads between insured and uninsured obligations. This is, in part, due to the fact that investors may choose to forego insurance to increase the yield on their investment. Therefore, the purchase of insurance during periods of relatively narrower interest rate spreads will generally provide lower cost savings to the issuer than during periods of relatively wider spreads. National's insured portfolio continued to perform satisfactorily on the whole, however portions of the obligations that the Company insures were issued by a few of the state and local governments and territories that remain under extreme financial and budgetary stress. In addition, a few of these local governments have filed for protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code or have entered into state statutory proceedings established to assist municipalities in managing through periods of severe fiscal stress. This could lead to an increase in defaults by such entities on the payment of their obligations and losses or impairments on a greater number of the Company's insured transactions. The Company monitors and analyzes each situation closely, and the overall extent and duration of this stress is uncertain. MBIA Inc. Liquidity As of June 30, 2014, the liquidity position of MBIA Inc., which consists of the liquidity positions of its corporate and asset/liability products segments, was $365 million, and comprised cash and liquid assets of $317 million available for general liquidity purposes and $48 million not pledged directly as collateral for its asset/liability products segment. As of December 31, 2013, MBIA Inc. had $359 million of cash and liquid assets comprising $307 million available for general corporate liquidity purposes and $52 million not pledged directly as collateral for its asset/liability products segment. During the six months ended June 30, 2014, $202 million was released to MBIA Inc. under the MBIA group's tax sharing agreement (the “Tax Escrow Account”). While MBIA Inc.'s liquidity position slightly improved during the six months ended June 30, 2014 due to this release, M BIA Inc. continues to have liquidity risk. If invested asset performance deteriorates or the flow of dividends from subsidiaries is interrupted and/or access to the capital markets is impaired, its liquidity position could be eroded over time. While the Company expects that MBIA Inc. will generate sufficient cash to satisfy its debt obligations and its general corporate needs over time from distributions from its operating subsidiaries and payments under the Tax Escrow Account once the payments become unrestricted, there can be no assurance that such sources will generate sufficient cash. In addition, a failure by MBIA Inc. to settle liabilities that are also insured by MBIA Corp. could result in claims on MBIA Corp. MBIA Corp. Recoveries and Insured Portfolio The amount and timing of projected collections from excess spread and put-back recoverable from Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc., and Select Portfolio Servicing Inc. (collectively, “Credit Suisse”) and the potential of claims from MBIA Corp.'s remaining insured CMBS pools and second-lien RMBS are uncertain. Further, the remaining insured portfolio, aside from these exposures, could deteriorate and result in additional significant loss reserves and claim payments. M anagement's expected liquidity and capital forecasts for MBIA Corp., which include expected excess spread recoveries and put-back recoveries from Credit Suisse, reflect adequate resources to pay claims when due. However, if MBIA Corp. experiences higher than expected claim payments or is unabl e to terminate the remaining exposures that represent substantial risk to the Company, MBIA Corp. may ultimately have insufficient resources to continue to pay claims, which could cause the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYSDFS”) to put MBIA Insurance Corp oration into a rehabilitation or li quidation proceeding. Such a proceeding could have an adverse impact on MBIA Inc. and would result in material adverse consequences for MBIA Corp., including the termination of insured credit default swaps (“CDS”) contracts for which counterparties may assert market-based claims, the acceleration of debt obligations issued by affiliates and insured by MBIA Corp., the loss of control of MBIA Insurance Corp oration to a rehabilitator or liquidator, and unplanned costs. Refer to “Note 5: Loss and Loss Adjustment Expense Reserves” for information about MBIA Corp.'s loss reserves and recoveries. Management does not believe that a rehabilitation or li quidation proceeding of MBIA Insurance Corporation by the NYSDFS will have any significant long-term liquidity impact on MBIA Inc. or result in a li quidation or similar proceeding of MBIA UK Insurance Limited.

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