Dear Visitor:

The financial guaranty industry has insured more than $5.8 trillion in debt during its 37-year history.

From its origins in the U.S. municipal bond sector, our industry has evolved into a global force. Financial guarantors not only increase the attractiveness of these markets to investors but also serve to lower the cost of financing necessary to strengthen vital infrastructures and economies.

Several factors have been driving global demand for financial guaranty insurance. These include the globalization of capital markets, the privatization of public infrastructure, and the anticipated implementation of the Basel II bank capitalization standards, which favor highly rated issues.

AFGI members support issuers in three major sectors:

U.S. Public Finance, where insured bonds play a central role in financing state and local governments and essential public needs including education, utilities, housing and transportation.

U.S. Structured Finance, where AFGI members provide credit enhancement for an expanding range of securities backed by mortgages, consumer receivables and other assets, as well as securities backed by pools of corporate bonds and loans.

International Public and Structured Finance, where financial guarantees strengthen and enhance the marketability of securitizations and public/private infrastructure financings, and help financial institutions manage capital more efficiently.

On behalf of AFGI's members, I thank you for visiting this site and hope you will take time to navigate through it and learn more about our work.

Sincerely,

Séan W. McCarthy
AFGI Chairman
President and Chief Operating Officer
Financial Security Assurance and Financial Security Assurance Holdings