Published: January 24, 2012
Radian Commutes $12.9 Billion Reinsurance Portfolio and Cedes $1.8 Billion of Public Finance Risk to Assured Guaranty
PHILADELPHIA - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Radian Group Inc. today announced that on January 24, 2012, its
financial guaranty insurance subsidiary, Radian Asset Assurance Inc.,
entered into a three-part transaction with subsidiaries of Assured
Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO) that included the following:
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The commutation of a $12.9 billion portfolio reinsured by Radian Asset
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The ceding of $1.8 billion of public finance business
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An agreement to sell Municipal and Infrastructure Assurance
Corporation (MIAC) for $91 million, subject to regulatory approval
"This deal is expected to increase Radian Asset's statutory capital by
$100 million in the first quarter of 2012," stated Radian's Chief
Executive Officer S.A. Ibrahim. "With this one transaction, we made
great strides toward improving our capital position and further
preserving our holding company liquidity."
Ibrahim added, "By reducing our financial guaranty net par outstanding
by 21 percent, we are strengthening Radian Asset's statutory capital
position. This transaction with Assured Guaranty is the product of a
strong relationship that continues to provide mutual benefit."
The transaction is expected to positively impact Radian Asset's, and
thus the primary mortgage insurance subsidiary Radian Guaranty's,
statutory capital in the first quarter of 2012 by $100 million,
including approximately $6 million in statutory capital to be generated
from the sale of MIAC.
Radian Asset will receive $91 million for the sale of MIAC, which is
expected to close in the first quarter of 2012. Radian purchased the
company in June 2011 for $82 million.
In addition, as part of the commutation and reinsurance transactions,
Radian Asset will transfer to Assured Guaranty net unearned premium of
$108 million, which will have no impact on Radian's holding company
cash. Goldman, Sachs & Co. served as an advisor to Radian on the
transaction.
Radian will provide details on this transaction as well as other capital
management initiatives that strengthen Radian Guaranty's risk-to-capital
position during its conference call to report fourth quarter and
year-end 2011 financial results on Thursday, February 23, 2012.
Additional details on the conference call and webcast may be found on
the Investors section of Radian's website at www.radian.biz.
About Radian
Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN), headquartered in Philadelphia, provides
private mortgage insurance and related risk mitigation products and
services to mortgage lenders nationwide through its principal operating
subsidiary, Radian Guaranty Inc. These services help promote and
preserve homeownership opportunities for homebuyers, while protecting
lenders from default-related losses on residential first mortgages and
facilitating the sale of low-downpayment mortgages in the secondary
market.
Forward-looking Statements
All statements in this press release that address events, developments
or results that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 and the United States ("U.S." ) Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. In most cases, forward-looking statements may be identified
by words such as "anticipate," "may," "will," "could," "should,"
"would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "goal," "contemplate," "believe,"
"estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," or the
negative or other variations on these words and other similar
expressions. These statements, which may include, without limitation,
projections regarding our future performance and financial condition,
are made on the basis of management's current views and assumptions with
respect to future events. Any forward-looking statement is not a
guarantee of future performance and actual results could differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. The
forward-looking statements, as well as our prospects as a whole, are
subject to risks and uncertainties, including the following:
-
changes in general economic and political conditions, including high
unemployment and continued weakness in the U.S. housing and mortgage
credit markets, the U.S. economy reentering a recessionary period, a
lack of meaningful liquidity in the capital markets or in the credit
markets, changes or volatility in interest rates or consumer
confidence, and changes in credit spreads, each of which may be
accelerated or intensified by, among other things, further actual or
threatened downgrades of U.S. credit ratings;
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our ability to successfully execute upon our capital plan, including
our capital management initiatives, for our mortgage insurance
business (which depends, in part, on the performance of our financial
guaranty portfolio), and if necessary, to obtain additional capital to
support our mortgage insurance business and the long-term liquidity
needs of our holding company;
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our ability to maintain an adequate risk-to-capital position and
surplus requirements in our mortgage insurance business in light of
ongoing losses in this business and potential further deterioration in
our financial guaranty portfolio, which, in the absence of new
capital, could depend on our ability to execute strategies for which
regulatory and other approvals or waivers are required and may not be
obtained;
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our ability to successfully complete the sale of MIAC which depends
on, among other things, obtaining necessary regulatory approvals;
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the application of existing federal or state consumer, lending,
insurance, tax, securities and other applicable laws and regulations,
or changes in these laws and regulations or the way they are applied
or interpreted, including, without limitation, legislative and
regulatory changes limiting or restricting our use of (or increasing
requirements for) additional capital and the products we may offer and
requirements, restrictions or limitations resulting from audits or
examinations conducted by state and federal regulators; and
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the possibility that we may fail to estimate accurately the
likelihood, magnitude and timing of losses in connection with
establishing loss reserves for our mortgage insurance or financial
guaranty businesses or premium deficiencies for our mortgage insurance
business, or to estimate accurately the fair value amounts of
derivative instruments in determining gains and losses on these
contracts.
For more information regarding these risks and uncertainties as well as
certain additional risks that we face, you should refer to the Risk
Factors detailed in Item 1A of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010 and in Item 1A of Part II of our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011,
and subsequent reports and registration statements filed from time to
time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Radian
Emily Riley, 215-231-1035
emily.riley@radian.biz
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