Citing Subprime Exposure, Fitch Eyes MBIA

The ratings of MBIA Inc. and its financial guaranty subsidiaries have been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings as a result of MBIA Insurance Corp.'s exposure to subprime mortgage collateral.MBIA Inc.'s long-term and debt ratings stand at AA, and the insurer financial strength ratings of MBIA Insurance and MBIA's other financial guaranty subsidiaries stand at AAA. The rating agency said the action followed the completion of an updated assessment of MBIA Insurance's exposure to structured finance collateralized debt obligations backed by subprime mortgage collateral, as well as MBIA's exposure to residential mortgage-backed securities. Fitch said slower growth through 2008 "should help improve the company's capital position," but added that MBIA recently "began to get more competitive in the sectors suffering material credit deterioration, and it is many of these transactions that are causing the problems for the company today." Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.