Quote from Cdntrader:
Moody's cuts Channel Re's Aaa rating
By Alistair Barr
Last update: 3:40 p.m. EST Feb. 22, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Moody's Investors Service said on Friday that it has cut the Aaa rating of Channel Reinsurance Ltd., a reinsurer that backs some of MBIA Inc.'s exposures. The rating was lowered to Aa3 from Aaa because Channel Re's capital position has been weakened by its exposure to the U.S. residential mortgage market, Moody's said. "Channel Re's weakened credit profile could negatively impact the value proposition of its reinsurance relationship with its sole customer, MBIA,"
FLASHBACK
Jan. 17, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- MBIA Inc.'s troubles may be exacerbated by a crisis at CHANNEL Reinsurance Ltd., a Bermuda-based reinsurer that took on moRE than $8 billion worth of risks from the bond insurer.
MBIA said recently that it will take a $3.3 billion charge in the fourth quarter to cut the fair market value of some of its mortgage-related exposures.
Because ChannelRE reinsures some of MBIA's risks, it will also take write-downs. Those charges will exceed its shareholder equity, or net worth, under generally accepted accounting principals, according to RenaissanceRE , two big ChannelRE shareholders.
ChannelRE was set up in 2004 to exclusively reinsuRE some of MBIA's risks. At the end of September, it reinsured $8.4 billion of exposures for the bond insurer. MBIA owns 17.4% of the Bermuda firm, while RenaissanceRE owns 32.7%. PartnerRE and Koch Financial aRE the other investors.
RenaissanceRE and PartnerRE said late Wednesday that their stakes in ChannelRE aRE now worthless, wiping out positions that weRE valued at $126.7 million and $74 million at the end of September. See full story.
'The primary insurer is always on the hook if the reinsurer fails. So if ChannelRE is in trouble, MBIA could still be on the hook.'
â Kathleen Shanley, Gimme Credit LLC
Reinsurance is back-up coverage bought by insurers to help them spread the risks they've taken on. But this type of protection only works if the reinsurer is financially strong enough to pay claims when due.
The problems at ChannelRE have sparked concern that MBIA may have to take back some of the risks it off-loaded onto the Bermuda firm and set aside moRE capital. The bond insurer may also have to write-down the value of its 17.4% stake, too.
That would be bad news for MBIA, which is already in danger of losing its crucial AAA rating because of waning capital.