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Shielding local goverment: A look at bond insurance

Published Friday, September 01, 2000

In 1971, the Greater Juneau (Alaska) Borough approached the Ambac Assurance Corp. with a novel idea. The borough wanted Ambac, whose primary concentration was insuring portfolios, to insure general obligation bonds. Nearly 30 years later, the idea has taken a firm hold in the world of municipal finance. More than 10 companies comprise the financial guaranty industry, which has upwards of $1.1 trillion bonds in its aggregate portfolio. In Wall Street parlance, bond protection has become "sleep well" insurance. That is because a bond insurance policy provides an unconditional and irrevocable obligation to pay the debt service on ...

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