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Business Developments and Risks and Uncertainties | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
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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 thro ugh 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 man agement 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, toget her 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 produ cts, 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 collective ly 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 Opportuni ties 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. As of September 30, 2014, National was rated AA+ with a stable outlook by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, AA- with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”), and A3 with a negative outlook by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”). National seeks to generate shareholder value through approp riate 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 f or a discussion of business risks related to National’s strategy. MBIA Corp. Risk Reductions During the nine months ended September 30, 2014, the Company continued to focus on the collection of excess spread and put-back recoveries and the mitigation of MB IA Corp.’s high risk insurance exposures, primarily through commutations of insurance policies. During the nine months ended September 30, 2014, MBIA Corp. commuted $6.5 billion of gross par exposure, primarily comprising structured comme rcial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) pools, investment grade corporate collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), commercial real estate (“CRE”) CDOs and asset-backed securities (“ABS”). MBIA Corp. may make negotiated settlement payments to counterpart ies and/or forego its right to all or some termination premiums when it commutes insurance exposures. The difference between the fair values of the Company’s derivative liabilities for the commuted policies and the aggregate cost of the commutation was ref lected in earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. Other In October of 2014, the Company signed an agreement to sell Cutwater to a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. The sale is expected to close at the beginning of the f irst quarter of 2015, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to have a positive but immaterial impact on the Company’s financial position and results of operations. Risks and Uncertainties The Com pany’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 ass umptions 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 rea lized, 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 mater ial effect on the Company’s financial statements and business objectives in future periods. MBIA Inc. Liquidity As of September 30, 2014, the liquidity position of MBIA Inc., which consists of the liquidity positions of its corporate and asset/liability products segments, was $348 million, and comprised cash and liquid assets of $297 million available for gene ral liquidity purposes and $51 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 nine months ended September 30, 2014, $220 million was released to MBIA Inc. under the MBIA group’s tax sharing agreement (the “Tax Escrow Account”). Subsequent to September 30, 2014, National declared and paid a dividend of $220 million to its ultimate parent, MBIA Inc. While MBIA Inc.’s liquidity position slightly i mproved during the nine months ended September 30, 2014 due to the Tax Escrow Account release, MBIA 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 insu red by MBIA Corp. could result in claims on MBIA Corp. 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 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 insta nces 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 of the insurance, the issuer will generally choose to issue bonds without insurance. Prevailin g interest rate levels can affect demand for financial guarantee insurance. Higher interest rates and higher levels of issuance of new municipal debt would present more favorable new business opportunities for National in the U.S. public finance market. Lo wer interest rates are typically accompanied by narrower spread s 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 o f 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 insure d were issued by a few of the state and local governments and territories that remain under financial and budgetary stress. In addition, a few of these local governments have filed for protection under Chapter 9 of 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 t he payment of their obligations and losses or impairments on a greater number of the Company’s insured transactions. The Company monitors and analyzes these situations and other stressed credits closely, and the overall extent and duration of this stress i s uncertain. MBIA Corp. Recoveri es and Insured Portfolio The amount and timing of projected collections from excess spread from second-lien residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and the 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 RMBS are uncertain. Further, the remaining insured portfolio, aside from the se exposures, could deteriorate and result in additional significant loss reserves and claim payments. Management’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 unable to terminate the remaining exposures that represent substantial risk to the Company, MBIA Corp. may ultimately h ave insufficient resources to continue to pay claims, which could cause the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYSDFS”) to put MBIA Corp., exclusive of MBIA UK, into a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding. Such a procee ding 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 accele ration of debt obligations issued by affiliates and insured by MBIA Corp., the loss of control of MBIA Corp., exclusive of MBIA UK, to a rehabilitator or liquidator, and unplanned costs. Refer to “Note 5: Loss and Loss Adjustment Expense Reserves” for information about M BIA Corp.’s loss reserves and recoveries. Management does not believe that a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding of MBIA Corp., exclusive of MBIA UK, by the NYSDFS will have any significant long-term liquidity impact on MBIA In c. or result in a liquidation or similar proceeding of MBIA UK.

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