Waiting for One Financial Guarantor to Fail

I may fail at it, but I try to be honest and self-critical here at my blog. For example, I did not suggest that Warren Buffett would buy Ambac (ABK), but I was misinterpreted as saying so. Now that Ajit Jain says that Berky might buy into one of the financial guarantors, I am not going to say that I predicted that, because I didn’t. It would be amusing if Buffett announced his new entry into the financial guaranty space to drive their prices down so he could buy a stake cheaper, but that is not his style. He values his reputation. That said, the NY regulator may not have thought enough steps ahead in pushing for Berky to set up a new guarantor. Good for new issues; perhaps not as good for old ones at legacy carriers.

Now, I admire Marty Whitman and Aldo Zucaro, but so far, their forays into the mortgage guaranty space have not worked out. I’m not counting them out, but it still may be early for that trade. Maybe we should wait for one of the companies to fail. The remaining companies should do well, once capacity drops out.

As for MBIA (MBI), they cut their dividend, which to me indicates a lower future level of profitability. Then they raise $1 billion through surplus notes at their operating subsidiary, and pay 14% to do that. That has to be a record spread for a new-issue nominally AA-rated bond. Personally, I think I would pass on the notes, except for a flip. I would rather hold the common. Scenarios that would kill the common would most likely also kill the surplus notes. The common has more upside potential.

Comments

[helplessobs...:]

These bond insurers are not going to fail, they are going to limp along to keep the muni bond market solvent. BRK will cherry pick their assets and five years from now will be the major insurer of government issued bonds. While big banks may be too large to fail, the bond insurers are "too important to fail".

2008 Jan 13 10:01 AM

[pickaroonwyo:]

Dear helpless....your handle betrays your fatalism. MBIA and ABK can fail because there are "too many to save".

"Capitalism without financial failure isn't really capitalism at all, but a kind of socialsim for the rich" -James Grant

2008 Jan 13 10:20 AM