Ambac works closely with governments and government agencies throughout the United States and around the world to improve access to the capital necessary for infrastructure projects and local financing needs. With our valuable financial guarantees and unmatched transaction structuring expertise, Ambac helps clients:
- Lower borrowing costs; and
- Enhance marketability of issues—Ambac’s irrevocable guarantee of timely payment of interest and principal reassures investors and simplifies analysis of complex structures.
From highways to hospitals, water and sewage systems to sports stadiums, Ambac collaborates with our clients to ensure the safety and success of a full range of transactions.
Our Deal Guidelines
For each potential assignment, experienced Ambac underwriters first assess a transaction to ensure certain criteria are met, including:
- Investment grade rating as defined by Moody’s and S&P before insurance
- Essentiality of project
- Familiarity with issuer
- Dedicated tax or repayment revenue source
- Single limit on enterprise credits
- Geographic diversity within Ambac’s total insured portfolio
Our Process
After meeting initial criteria, each potential transaction and its issuer are reviewed in depth by an underwriting team to ensure suitability and economic potential. Ambac reaches across disciplines within the company to assemble a team of specialists, including experienced in-house legal advisors, with knowledge of the financing type, issue structure and geographic region. Once accepted, transactions undergo rigorous examination by our centralized Credit Committee, a group that includes senior professionals with experience across the full range of financing types. Following underwriting and a successful issue, every Ambac-insured security is tracked by our surveillance professionals to provide early warning for any potential problems that might arise during the life of an issue.
Key Contacts
U.S. Market
Health Care
Continuing industry change and increasing competition create significant financing challenges for health care institutions. Ambac partners with non-profit hospitals, hospital systems, and health maintenance organizations to help them raise capital necessary for patient care and capital improvements or to meet refinancing objectives. With a strong presence in the market, a high quality portfolio and superior underwriting and surveillance expertise, Ambac sets the standard for knowledgeable, reliable health care financing support.
Higher Education
Ambac provides the support and financial strength for issuers raising funds for construction of educational facilities or ongoing capital needs. Client engagements span the gamut from straightforward general obligations for government education authorities to complex innovative tax-exempt bond solutions enabling private colleges and institutions to solve specific financing challenges. Ambac also works with financial institutions to insure securitized pools of students loans and helps educational authorities and, through its affiliates, enables institutions to better utilize financial resources with tools and techniques such as interest rate swaps and investment agreements.
Leases
Ambac insures a variety of Certificates of Participation and Lease Revenue Bonds throughout the United States. Financial guarantee insurance is available for lease financings for school districts, cities, counties and states. Ambac is a leader in financial guarantees for lease-financed projects from the traditional abatement or appropriation-backed leases to the highly structured public/private partnerships. Our vast and diverse experience enables us to help plan and structure a transaction that suits the specific needs of the issuer.
Not-for-Profit Institutions
Ambac’s expertise and valuable guarantee are frequently used by charitable and eleemosynary organizations to help meet their diverse financial challenges. Ambac can work with an institution to structure a strong financing for capital improvements or other financial needs. An Ambac financial guarantee attached to the financing ensures the highest ratings available, even for not-for-profit institutions that may not be well-known to issuers. In recent years, Ambac’s work with not-for-profit groups has included guaranteeing financings for Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Los Angeles YMCA.
Project Finance - US & Canada
Governments and their agencies are increasingly meeting their precise funding needs through structured project financings. In the U.S. public finance market, these transactions often include partnering with private sector developers to meet public needs. Ambac combines thirty years of public finance experience with expertise in structured and international finance to create teams of professionals working with clients— municipalities, government entities and developers— for efficient and effective transaction execution. This unmatched breadth of structuring expertise, combined with our valuable financial guarantee, enables authorities to finance specific projects efficiently and cost effectively.
Structured Real Estate
Real estate sponsors, developers, state and local housing finance agencies and public housing authorities utilize Ambac financial guarantees to bolster their financing activities and promote opportunities in affordable housing. Through a variety of guarantee programs for both debt and equity, Ambac actively participates in all segments of the housing industry. In addition, we work closely with other government authorities to structure and guarantee financings to expand and improve affordable housing stock. Ambac also works with the U.S. military on housing privatization projects enabling more efficient use of resources and better fiscal management.
Stadiums
Having a sports stadium is integral to a community’s vibrancy and civic pride. Ambac is a leader in helping communities finance stadiums in close partnership with private sector interests, tapping the future revenue streams of the facilities and their sports franchises. Each stadium project is unique and Ambac’s partnership approach bridges the gap between public and private constituents resulting in funding solutions that give the home team, its fans and the community an economically viable stadium.
Tax-Backed
Ambac helps structure and provides insurance for public finance bond issues in the U.S. and abroad. Financial guarantee insurance is available for virtually all types of municipal bonds helping state and local governments access the funds they need for infrastructure and other projects to foster local economic health.
Transportation
Adequate transportation infrastructure fosters local growth and helps ensure economic health for a region. Ambac’s expertise in structuring and supporting infrastructure financings extends into the airport, toll road and mass transit sectors. These transactions often involve innovative partnerships between government-run transportation authorities, including airports, and private sector companies or developers. Ambac brings these diverse constituencies together with creative financing structures that meet the needs and requirements of all sides.
Utilities (Investor-Owned Utilities)
Ambac has extensive experience throughout the investor-owned utility sector. Ambac helps utility clients meet their financing challenges and objectives in today’s complex environments. For a wide range of utility clients, Ambac provides financial guarantee insurance enabling issuers to achieve interest rate savings on their tax-exempt financing. In addition, Ambac’s experience includes insuring taxable utility debt, as well as guaranteeing the bonds of international utilities.
Secondary Markets
Secondary market insurance allows bond dealers and institutional investors the ability to upgrade qualified bonds they hold or plan to acquire.
Non-U.S. Market
Project Finance
More and more public sector projects are coming to fruition through productive partnerships with private sector developers. These cooperative ventures often demand creative financing structures. Ambac is a global leader in project finance transactions and is active in the majority of sectors, including Health, Education, Water, Roads, Rail, Defence Accommodation & Equipment and Government Accommodation. Other sectors where Ambac is also active include Stadia, Oil and Gas, University Accommodation and other essential facilities.
Global Utilities
Utility markets around the world continue to evolve rapidly. In this complex and continually changing environment, Ambac helps utility clients outside the U.S. meet their financing challenges and objectives. For a wide range of utility clients, Ambac provides financial guarantee insurance to lower borrowing costs and increase marketability of international utilities financing. In addition, Ambac has the expertise, knowledge base and experience to help utilities tailor their balance sheets through debt restructuring and balance sheet customization.
Secondary Markets
Secondary market insurance allows bond dealers and institutional investors the ability to upgrade qualified bonds they hold or plan to acquire.
