Understanding the potential impact of unfunded pension liabilities on a municipal bond issuer’s credit quality requires analyzing both the amount of the liability and whether the issuer has an adequate plan for closing that gap.
NEW YORK, June 17, 2019 – Build America Mutual today announced that it has been accepted as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, becoming the first municipal bond insurer to join the FHLB System. Membership will expand BAM’s financial flexibility by providing access to reliable liquidity at a low cost, and supports BAM’s mission of providing durable credit enhancement for its municipal bond issuer- members who finance essential public infrastructure across the U.S.
Understanding how changes in the United States’ demographic profile will impact the long-term credit outlook for specific municipal borrowers requires a granular analysis of the individual drivers of those shifts. The U.S. population is aging, but evidence suggests that the economic and fiscal pressures associated with that shifit will not be evenly distributed across regions.
NEW YORK, May 10, 2019 — Build America Mutual today published its financial results for the first quarter of 2019, showing that BAM insured $1.9 billion par during the period, and posted continued growth in par outstanding and claims-paying resources.
NEW YORK, March 26, 2019 -Kroll Bond Rating Agency today affirmed its AA rating and Stable outlook for Fidus Re Ltd.’s $100 million of principal-at-risk variable-rate notes, which were sold to fund a $100 million collateralized excess of loss reinsurance policy that provides additional claims-paying resources for Build America Mutual.
NEW YORK, February 15, 2019 — Build America Mutual today published its financial results for 2018, showing that BAM insured $12 billion par during the year, and posted continued growth in par outstanding and claims-paying resources.
Build America Mutual’s member issuers have elected longtime municipal bond analyst Natalie Cohen to join the Board of Directors. She succeeds Hon. Ed Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania, who has served on the board since the company’s launch in 2012 and will now join BAM’s Strategic Advisory Committee.
Build America Mutual’s financial results for the third quarter of 2018 showed continued growth in par outstanding and claims-paying resources.
BAM guaranteed $1.9 billion of primary market insured transactions priced in the quarter, and total premiums on primary and secondary market transactions were $20.9 million. Statutory Comprehensive Income was $4.0 million.
In a brief commentary, BAM VP and pension actuary Les Richmond discusses a proposal for the Federal government to sell “Rebuild America Bonds” to public pension funds as part of an infrastructure financing program, and finds that the proposal could have very different credit impacts on individual municipal bond issuers.
Bloomberg Radio hosts Lisa Abramowicz and Pimm Fox took their “P&L Show” on the road for a live broadcast from Build America Mutual’s New York City offices on October 23rd. Topics discussed during the two-hour broadcast included the outlook for US infrastructure investment, the emerging market for municipal Green Bonds and the BAM GreenStar Assessment, and how equity market volatility can impact the demand for and credit quality of municipal bonds.
The BAM GreenStar Assessment program will identify green bonds sold by U.S. municipal bond issuers for infrastructure projects that provide clear environmental benefits.
NEW YORK, June 25, 2018 – S&P Global Ratings today announced that it has completed its annual review of Build America Mutual and affirmed BAM’s AA rating and Stable outlook, the strongest rating S&P assigns to any active insurer.