Moody´s Reaffirms FSA´s Aaa Rating with a Stable Outlook



    Moody´s Investors Service has affirmed the Aaa insurance financial
    strength rating of Financial Security Assurance Inc. (FSA) with a
    stable outlook. As outlined in Moody´s Rating Methodology for
    financial guarantors, Moody´s has evaluated FSA along five key rating
    factors: franchise value and strategy, insurance portfolio
    characteristics, capital adequacy, profitability and financial
    flexibility.

    The report states that " FSA´s broad and deep relationships with
    issuers, as well as its prominent market position and execution
    capabilities in several market sectors, provide the company with a
    solid foundation from which to capitalize on today´s market
    conditions. The rating agency added that FSA´s large underwriting
    volume is also an important indicator of the perceived value of
    financial guaranty insurance by the capital markets more generally."

    In discussing FSA´s insured portfolio, Moody´s notes that FSA´s
    ABS CDO exposure is modest. Commenting on FSA´s exposure to pooled
    corporate debt obligations, the majority of which is in synthetic
    form, Moody´s says that "the risks presented by such exposures are
    manageable by FSA given the conservative underwriting strategy of the
    firm, with all deals originated since 2003 being Aaa at origination or
    attaching above Aaa subordination levels in the case of synthetic
    transactions."

    Additionally, Moody´s reported that "FSA´s ownership by Dexia is
    considered to be a strength, as evidenced by its capacity and
    willingness to provide FSA with additional funding at a time when some
    publicly traded guarantors were struggling to raise capital in very
    challenging market conditions."

    THE COMPANY

    Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. (the Company),
    headquartered in New York City, is a holding company whose affiliates
    provide financial guarantees and financial products to clients in both
    the public and private sectors around the world. The principal
    operating subsidiary, Financial Security Assurance Inc. (FSA), a
    leading guarantor of public finance and asset-backed obligations, has
    been assigned Triple-A ratings, the highest ratings available, from
    Fitch Ratings, Moody´s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor´s
    Ratings Services and Rating and Investment Information, Inc. Through
    other subsidiaries, the Company provides FSA-insured financial
    products, such as guaranteed investment contracts, to obtain funds at
    Triple-A cost and then invests those funds in high-quality, liquid
    securities. The Company is a member of the Dexia group.

    FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

    The Company relies on the safe harbor for forward-looking
    statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
    1995. This safe harbor requires that the Company specify important
    factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
    those contained in forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of
    the Company. Accordingly, forward-looking statements by the Company
    and its affiliates are qualified by reference to the following
    cautionary statements.

    In its filings with the SEC, reports to shareholders, press
    releases and other written and oral communications, the Company from
    time to time makes forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking
    statements include, but are not limited to:

    -- projections of revenues, income (or loss), earnings (or loss)
    per share, dividends, market share or other financial
    forecasts;

    -- statements of plans, objectives or goals of the Company or its
    management, including those related to growth in adjusted book
    value or return on equity; and

    -- expected losses on, and adequacy of loss reserves for, insured
    transactions.

    Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends" and
    "plans" and future and conditional verbs such as "will," "should,"
    "would," "could" and "may" and similar expressions are intended to
    identify forward looking statements but are not the exclusive means of
    identifying such statements.

    The Company cautions that a number of important factors could
    cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, objectives,
    expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in forward-looking
    statements made by the Company. These factors include:

    -- changes in capital requirements or other criteria of
    securities rating agencies applicable to FSA;

    -- competitive forces, including the conduct of other financial
    guaranty insurers;

    -- changes in domestic or foreign laws or regulations applicable
    to the Company, its competitors or its clients;

    -- changes in accounting principles or practices that may result
    in a decline in securitization transactions or affect the
    Company´s reported financial results;

    -- an economic downturn or other economic conditions (such as a
    rising interest rate environment) adversely affecting
    transactions insured by FSA or its investment portfolio;

    -- inadequacy of reserves established by the Company for losses
    and loss adjustment expenses;

    -- disruptions in cash flow on FSA-insured structured
    transactions attributable to legal challenges to such
    structures;

    -- downgrade or default of one or more of FSA´s reinsurers;

    -- market conditions, including the credit quality and market
    pricing of securities issued;

    -- capacity limitations that may impair investor appetite for
    FSA-insured obligations;

    -- market spreads and pricing on insured CDS exposures, which may
    result in gain or loss due to mark-to-market accounting
    requirements;

    -- prepayment speeds on FSA-insured asset-backed securities and
    other factors that may influence the amount of installment
    premiums paid to FSA; and

    -- other factors, most of which are beyond the Company´s control.

    The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors
    is not exhaustive. In any event, such forward-looking statements made
    by the Company speak only as of the date on which they are made, and
    the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise such
    statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.