Municipal Bond Insurers

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Municipal Bond Insurers

Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty is the largest active municipal bond insurer in the United States. It provides insurance for public, structured finance, and asset-backed securities.

Build America Mutual (BAM)

Build America Mutual is a mutual insurance company owned by its municipal issuer members. It specializes exclusively in U.S. municipal bond insurance and is a major player in the market, especially for new-issue bonds. BAM focuses on affordability and supporting smaller issuers who may benefit from bond insurance.

MBIA

MBIA (Municipal Bond Insurance Association) was once a leading municipal bond insurer, but its presence has declined significantly since the 2008 financial crisis. Today, MBIA primarily provides financial insurance and investment services rather than traditional municipal bond insurance.

Ambac

Ambac, formerly the American Municipal Bond Assurance Corporation, also played a major role in municipal bond insurance before the 2008 financial crisis. After restructuring from bankruptcy, Ambac now offers a narrower range of insurance products for municipal and structured finance debts, with a smaller market share than it once had.

Other insurers

A few smaller financial guaranty agencies continue to offer municipal bond insurance, but the market is highly concentrated. Many municipal bonds today are issued without insurance, as strong credit ratings and historically low default rates have reduced demand for insurance.

Market context

Municipal bond insurance is less widespread than it was before 2008. While insurers like Assured Guaranty and BAM play important roles, many issuers choose to issue bonds without insurance, relying instead on credit ratings and market research to assess risk.