Author: Farkas Laura

After Moody’s Investors Service put the world’s largest bond insurers under review for a second time this year, MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc. may give up attempts to retain the Aaa credit ratings of their bond insurance units.    The companies, which have raised $4.1 billion combined in the past six months, said… Continue reading Largest Bond Insurers May Give Up on Retaining Moody’s Top Rating

The number of home foreclosures during the first quarter faced by Americans is the highest it’s been in almost thirty years, as borrowers who fell behind on payments were unable to sell their homes.     The Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report today that new foreclosures rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.99 percent… Continue reading Foreclosures, Mortgage Delinquencies Highest in Nearly 30 Years

A House subcommittee hearing is scheduled for next week to review a proposal to create a federal insurance information agency. Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski, who is chairman of Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, announced that the hearing on his Insurance Information Act of 2008 (H.R. 5840,) legislation will take place on… Continue reading OFC Proposal Hearing Scheduled for Next Week

As the estimated 80 million people born between 1981 and 2001 enter the workforce and become active consumers, technology will play a critical role for insurance firms targeting potential employees and consumers in the so-called “millennial generation,” according to a new survey released last month by Insurity and Microsoft Corp. at the ACORD LOMA Insurance… Continue reading Study Shows How Tech-Savvy Younger Employees View Insurance Industry

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has expanded its award-winning Insure U consumer education program with new topic areas aimed at consumers in four life situations: domestic partners; single parents; grandparents raising grandchildren; and members of the military.     “Expanding our Insure U program directly reflects the varied life situations and needs that… Continue reading NAIC Expands Insure U Consumer Education Program

Two leading Wall Street strategists stated today that a “credit recession” sparked by the U.S. housing market downturn and excesses in structured finance may last more than two years, and the financial sector will undergo “massive consolidation.” Jack Malvey, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc’s chief global fixed-income strategist, said in New York, that the fallout from… Continue reading Subprime Mess Could Result in Two-Year Credit Recession, Wall Street Strategists Say

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has adopted a Solvency Modernization Work Plan, which will analyze international solvency standards and propose related enhancements to the U.S. regulatory system.    “With insurance markets reflecting the effects of globalization, it is critical that the U.S. regulatory framework holds to the highest supervisory standards,” said Alabama Insurance… Continue reading NAIC Adopts Work Plan to Analyze International Solvency Standards, US Regulatory System

Aon Corporation on Tuesday announced that the five government agencies to its 2005 regulatory settlement agreement have agreed to an amendment that will permit companies acquired by Aon to continue to accept contingent commissions for three years following their acquisition by the carrier.     Under the amendment, a company acquired by Aon will be… Continue reading Amendment Allows Aon-Acquired Companies Can Continue to Accept Contigent Commissions Over Three Years

Struggling under sinking demand and a credit crisis, home builders in the U.S. are now confronting competition from a flood of homes in foreclosure. In the midst of the worst U.S. housing market downturn since the Great Depression, home builders have slowed down their building activities. They’ve also been slicing through their inventories of unsold… Continue reading Home Builders Face Competition from Foreclosures

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that U.S. mortgage applications fell for a third consecutive week, reaching its lowest level in over six years as demand for home refinancing loans plunged. The industry group said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended May 30 dropped… Continue reading Mortgage Apps Down for Third Consecutive Week