Theirratingsofcorporatedebt may have held up well, but they werewayoffinstructuredsecurities, not a lot better in sovereign debt, andnow their municipal-bond ratings, too, are under fire.
Apple's stock plunge last week has also stung investors who bought complex, bond-like "structured products" tied to the shares, on which losses could top 30%.
Precisely one year after his return as chief executive of MBIA, JayBrownJay Brown formalized his plan to separate the insurer's municipal bond business from the structured finance business that has given it so much trouble.
Brown was careful to point out that the structured finance piece of MBIA will be completely separate from the municipal bond segment and will not be a burden on the latter.