NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 4, 2009-- Assured Guaranty Corp. (“Assured”), the financial guaranty subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO), announced today that it guaranteed 136 U.S. public finance new issue transactions totaling $3.3 billion of par during May 2009. This represents approximately 11.2% of total U.S. public finance new issue volume during May 2009, up from 8.0% in May 2008. For the first five months of 2009, Assured has guaranteed 10.7% of U.S. public finance new issue volume.

"Our activity this month and, in particular, after the May 20^th Moody’s credit review announcement, is a testament to the strong value the public finance market places on Assured’s financial guaranties,” noted Bill Hogan, Senior Managing Director of Assured’s Public Finance Group. “All of the deals that were scheduled to close on or after May 21^st proceeded without delay. Since the Moody’s announcement, Assured has closed a total of 66 transactions representing $1.5 billion in par.”

Several transactions have priced with Assured’s financial guaranty since May 20, 2009, including a $304 million revenue bond issue for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York School District and $110 million in revenue bonds for the Port St. Lucie (Florida) Utility System. Among the six Build America Bond transactions that Assured guaranteed in May, four were priced after the Moody’s credit review announcement including $90 million of housing and auxiliary facilities system revenue bonds for the South Dakota Board of Regents and $50 million in sales tax bonds for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana that also included an additional $110 million of insured tax-exempt bonds.

During May 2009, Assured also priced two student loan revenue bond transactions. The first transaction was for $50 million for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the second transaction was for $210 million for the Maine Educational Loan Authority. The bonds for both transactions help provide loans to finance the graduate and undergraduate education of local residents as well as non-residents that attend schools in those states.

Assured Guaranty Corp. is a leading provider of financial guaranty insurance in the U.S. and international public finance, structured finance and mortgage-backed securities markets. Assured Guaranty Corp. is rated AAA by Standard and Poor’s, Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service and AA from Fitch Ratings. Assured Guaranty Corp. is licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a Bermuda-based holding company. Its operating subsidiaries provide credit enhancement products to the U.S. and international public finance, structured finance and mortgage markets. More information can be found at www.assuredguaranty.com.

Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and financial performance 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. For example, the Company’s forward-looking statements, including its statements regarding the volume of the public finance business, could be affected by a significant reduction in the amount of reinsurance ceded by one or more of our principal ceding companies, rating agency action such as a ratings downgrade, difficulties with the execution of the Company’s business strategy, contract cancellations, developments in the world’s financial and capital markets, more severe or frequent losses associated with products affecting the adequacy of the Company’s loss reserve, changes in regulation or tax laws, governmental actions, natural catastrophes, the Company’s dependence on customers, decreased demand or increased competition, loss of key personnel, technological developments, the effects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, changes in accounting policies or practices, changes in general economic conditions, 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 speak only as of the dates on which they are made. 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.

Source: Assured Guaranty Corp.

Assured Guaranty Corp.
Public Finance:
Bill Hogan, Senior Managing Director, Public Finance, 212-408-6006
bhogan@assuredguaranty.com
or
Investors:
Sabra Purtill, Managing Director, Global Communications
and Investor Relations, 212-408-6044 or 441-299-9375
spurtill@assuredguaranty.com
or
Media:
Ashweeta Durani, Vice President, Global Communications, 212-408-6042 or 917-597-2065
adurani@assuredguaranty.com