MBIA INC (MBI) Risk Factors
This page reproduces the company's own Item 1A Risk Factors text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Informational only - not investment advice. See Disclaimer.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
References in the risk factors to the “Company” are to MBIA Inc., together with its subsidiaries. References to “we,” “our” and “us” are to MBIA Inc. or the Company, as the context requires. Our risk factors are grouped into categories and are presented in the following order: “Insured Portfolio Loss Related Risk Factors”, “Legal, Regulatory and Other Risk Factors”, “Capital, Liquidity and Market Related Risk Factors”, “MBIA Corp. Risk Factors”, and “General Risk Factors”. Risk Factors are generally listed in order of significance within each category.
Insured Portfolio Loss Related Risk Factors
Some of the state, local and territorial governments and finance authorities and other providers of public services, located in the U.S. or abroad, that issued public finance obligations we insured are experiencing fiscal stress that could result in increased credit losses or impairments on those obligations.
Certain issuers are reporting fiscal stress that has resulted in a significant increase in taxes and/or a reduction in spending or other measures in efforts to satisfy their financial obligations. In particular, certain jurisdictions have significantly underfunded pension liabilities which are placing additional stress on their finances and are particularly challenging to restructure either through negotiation or under Chapter 9 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. If the issuers of the obligations in our public finance portfolio are unable to raise taxes, or increase other revenues, cut spending, reduce liabilities, and/or receive state or federal assistance, we may experience losses or impairments on those obligations, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The financial stress experienced by certain municipal issuers could result in the filing of Chapter 9 proceedings in states where municipal issuers are permitted to seek bankruptcy protection. In these proceedings, which remain rare, the resolution of bondholder claims (and by extension, those of bond insurers) may be subject to legal challenge by other creditors.
In particular, while the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has completed its court-ordered restructuring pursuant to the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”), the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (“PREPA”) currently remains in a bankruptcy-like proceeding under PROMESA in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
As of December 31, 2025, National had $565 million of debt service outstanding related to Puerto Rico. During 2025, PREPA defaulted on scheduled debt service for National insured bonds and National paid gross claims in the aggregate of $105 million. On January 1, 2026 PREPA also defaulted on scheduled debt service for National insured bonds and National paid gross claims in the aggregate of $11 million.
On January 29, 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the appeal of Judge Swain's ruling on the scope of the bondholder liens and the allowed amount of the under-secured portion of the bondholders' unsecured claim. On June 12, 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Judge Swain's prior rulings and supported bondholder liens and claim amounts (the "Appeal Decision"). On June 26, 2024, the Oversight Board filed a petition for a First Circuit panel rehearing, and the Unsecured Creditors Committee ("UCC") filed an en banc appeal. On November 13, 2024, the First Circuit affirmed the Appeal Decision. On November 27, 2024, the Oversight Board filed a petition for further rehearing, and on December 31, 2024, the First Circuit denied the rehearing request. Following the Appeal Decision, the Oversight Board informed the Court, National and other parties that it intended to modify National’s settlement in a forthcoming amended Plan. Thereafter, National provided notice to the Oversight Board that National did not support Oversight Board's actions and that such actions constituted a breach and termination of the PREPA RSA, as amended. On January 29, 2025, the Court extended its litigation stay through March 24, 2025, and on March 3, 2025, entered an order identifying key legal issues and requiring a joint proposed litigation schedule. On March 20, 2025, the Court set a briefing schedule addressing the key issues and requested the parties provide a joint status report by May 30, 2025 proposing a plan for limited discovery necessary to resolve the issues. On June 11, 2025, the Court set June 30, 2025, as the deadline for discovery, and July 23, 2025, for oral arguments in the administrative expense claim motion. Following the hearing, the Court reserved its decision on the legal issues and permitted the parties to continue resolution of discovery disputes. On August 8, 2025, the Court entered an order suspending deadlines for the Administrative Expense Claim until further order of the Court. On October 22, 2025, the Court ordered the parties to meet and confer on scheduling issues in the Administrative Expense Claim litigation and required they filed a Joint Status Report by November 24, 2025. Following the filing of the Joint Status Report, the Court entered an order dated December 9, 2025, lifting the litigation stay to permit the parties to litigate motions to compel solely in connection with the Administrative Expense Motion. Bondholders filed their Motion to Compel on January 9, 2026, and the Oversight Board on January 23, 2026 filed its opposition. Bondholders filed their reply brief on February 6, 2026. There is no assurance that a plan that is substantially similar in the treatment of National's claims and rights will ultimately be confirmed and become effective.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (continued)
Refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations––Results of Operations––U.S. Public Finance Insurance Puerto Rico Exposures” section in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K for additional information on our Puerto Rico exposures.
Loss reserve estimates and credit impairments are subject to additional uncertainties and loss reserves may not be adequate to cover potential claims.
Our insurance companies issued financial guarantee policies that insure the financial performance of the obligations guaranteed over a long period of time which are unconditional and irrevocable. Under substantially all of our policies, we do not have a right to cancel the policy. We do not use actuarial approaches that are customarily used by other types of insurance companies to determine our loss reserves. The establishment of the appropriate level of loss reserves is an inherently uncertain process involving numerous assumptions, estimates and subjective judgments by management, and therefore, there can be no assurance that future net claims in our insured portfolio will not exceed our loss reserves. If our loss reserves are not adequate to cover actual losses, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. We use financial models to project future net claims on our insured portfolio, including insured derivatives, and to establish loss reserves and estimate impairments and related recoveries. There can be no assurance that the future loss projection and impairments based on these models will ultimately reflect the actual losses and impairment and recovery that we experience. Additionally, small changes in the assumptions underlying these estimates could significantly impact loss expectations. For example, our loss reserves are discounted to a net present value reflecting our general obligation to pay claims over time and not on an accelerated basis. Risk-free rates are used to discount our loss reserves under accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S., and the yield-to-maturity of each insurer’s investment fixed-income portfolio (excluding cash and cash equivalents and other investments not intended to defease long-term liabilities) as of year-end is used to discount each insurer’s loss reserves under statutory accounting principles. Accordingly, changes in the risk-free rates or the yield in our insurance companies’ fixed-income investment portfolios may materially impact loss reserves.
Political and economic conditions in the United States and elsewhere may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.
As a financial guarantee company, our insured exposures and our results of operations can be materially affected by general political and economic conditions, both in the U.S. and around the world. General global unrest, including fraud, terrorism, catastrophic events, natural disasters, pandemics such as the novel coronavirus COVID-19, or similar events could disrupt the economy in the U.S. and other countries where we have insured exposure or operate our businesses. In certain jurisdictions outside the U.S., we face higher risks of governmental intervention through nationalization or expropriation of assets, changes in regulation, an inability to enforce our rights in court or otherwise and corruption, which may cause us to incur losses on the exposures we insure or reputational harm.
Budget deficits at all levels of government in the U.S., recessions, increases in corporate, municipal, sovereign, sub-sovereign or consumer default rates and other general economic conditions may adversely impact the performance of our insured portfolios and the Company’s investment portfolio. In addition, we are exposed to correlation risk as a result of the possibility that multiple credits will experience losses as a result of any such event or series of events, in particular exposures that are backed by revenues from business and personal travel, such as bonds backed by hotel taxes.
Financial modeling involves uncertainty over ultimate outcomes, which makes it difficult to estimate liquidity, potential claims payments, loss reserves and fair values.
The Company uses third-party and internal financial models to estimate liquidity, potential claims payments, loss reserves and fair values. We use internal financial models to conduct liquidity stress-scenario testing to ensure that we maintain cash and liquid securities sufficient to meet our payment requirements. These measurements are performed on a legal entity and operating segment basis. We also rely on financial models, generated internally and supplemented by models generated by third parties, to estimate factors relating to the highly complex securities we insure, including future credit performance of the underlying assets, and to evaluate structures, rights and our potential obligations over time. We also use internal models for ongoing insurance portfolio monitoring and to estimate case basis loss reserves and, where applicable, to report our obligations under our contracts at fair value. We may supplement such models with third-party models or use third-party experts to consult with our internal modeling specialists. Both internal and external models are subject to model risk and information risk, and there can be no assurance that the inputs into the models received from third parties will be accurate or that the models themselves are accurate or comprehensive in estimating our liquidity, potential future paid claims, related loss reserves and fair values or that they are similar to methodologies employed by our competitors, counterparties or other market participants. Estimates of our claims payments, in particular, may materially impact our liquidity position. We may make changes to our estimated claims payments, loss reserves or fair value models from time to time. These changes could materially impact our financial results.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (continued)
Our risk management policies and procedures may not adequately detect or prevent future losses.
We assess our risk management policies and procedures on a periodic basis. As a result of such assessment, we may take steps to change our internal risk assessment capabilities and procedures, portfolio management policies, systems and processes and our policies and procedures for monitoring and assessing the performance of our insured portfolio in changing market conditions. There can be no assurance, however, that these steps will be adequate to avoid future losses. In some cases, losses can be substantial, particularly if a loss occurs on a transaction in which we have a large notional exposure or on a transaction structured with large, bullet-type maturities.
Legal, Regulatory and Other Risk Factors
Regulatory change could adversely affect our businesses, and regulations could limit investors’ ability to affect a takeover or business combination that shareholders might consider in their best interests.
The financial guarantee insurance industry has historically been and will continue to be subject to the direct and indirect effects of governmental regulation, including insurance laws, securities laws, tax laws, legal precedents and accounting rules affecting asset-backed and municipal obligations, as well as changes in those laws. Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could expose our insurance companies and/or their constituents, to fines, the loss of their insurance licenses, and the inability to engage in certain business activity, as the case may be. These laws also limit investors’ ability to affect a takeover or business combination without the approval of our insurance regulators.
Changes to laws and regulations, or the interpretation thereof could subject our insurance companies to increased loss reserves and capital requirements or more stringent regulation generally, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Finally, changes to accounting standards and regulations may require modifications to our accounting methodology, both prospectively and for prior periods; such changes could have an adverse impact on our reported financial results and/or make it more difficult for investors to understand the economics of our business and may thus influence the types or volume of business that we may choose to pursue.
Our insurance companies could become subject to regulatory action.
Our insurance companies are subject to various statutory and regulatory restrictions that require them to maintain qualifying investments to support their reserves and required minimum surplus. Furthermore, our insurance companies may be restricted from making commutation or other payments if doing so would cause them to fail to meet such requirements, and the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYSDFS”) may impose other remedial actions on us as described further below to the extent our insurance companies do not meet such requirements.
Under New York Insurance Law (“NYIL”), the Superintendent of Financial Services (the “Superintendent”) may apply for an order directing the rehabilitation or liquidation of a domestic insurance company under certain circumstances, including upon the insolvency of the company, if the company has willfully violated its charter or the NYIL, or if the company is found, after examination, to be in such condition that further transaction of business would be hazardous to its policyholders, creditors or the public. The Superintendent may also suspend an insurer’s license, restrict its license authority, or limit the amount of premiums written in New York if, after a hearing, the Superintendent determines that the insurer’s surplus to policyholders is not adequate in relation to its outstanding liabilities or financial needs. If the Superintendent were to take any such action as to National, it could result in the reduction or elimination of the payment of dividends to MBIA Inc.
In addition to the Superintendent’s authority to commence a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding, if the Superintendent finds that the liabilities of MBIA Insurance Corporation exceed its admitted assets, the Superintendent could use its authority under Section 1310 of the NYIL to order MBIA Insurance Corporation to cease making claims payments (a “1310 Order”). Continuing elevated loss payments and delay or failure in realizing expected recoveries as well as certain other factors may materially and adversely affect MBIA Insurance Corporation’s liquidity and its ability to timely meet its insurance obligations, and could cause the NYSDFS to put MBIA Insurance Corporation into a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding, or issue a 1310 Order, if it does not believe MBIA Insurance Corporation will be able to pay expected claims. See Risk Factor “An MBIA Insurance Corporation rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding could accelerate certain of the Company’s other obligations and have other adverse consequences” under “MBIA Corp. Risk Factors” for the potential impacts of an MBIA Insurance Corporation rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding, or a 1310 Order.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (continued)
Private litigation claims could materially adversely affect our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.
As further set forth in “Note 18: Commitments and Contingencies” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of MBIA Inc. and Subsidiaries in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, the Company and/or its subsidiaries are named as defendants in certain litigations, and in the ordinary course of business, may be a defendant in or party to a new or threatened legal action. Although the Company intends to vigorously defend against any current or future action, there can be no assurance that it will prevail in any such action, and any adverse ultimate outcome could result in a loss and/or have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations or financial condition.
An ownership change under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code could have materially adverse tax consequences.
In connection with transactions in our shares from time to time, we may in the future experience an “ownership change” within the meaning of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. In general terms, an ownership change may result from transactions increasing the aggregate ownership of certain stockholders in our stock by more than 50 percentage points over a testing period (generally three years). If an ownership change were to occur, our ability to use certain tax attributes, including certain losses, credits, deductions or tax basis, may be limited. On May 2, 2018, MBIA Inc.’s shareholders ratified an amendment to the Company’s By-Laws, which had been adopted earlier by MBIA Inc.’s Board of Directors. The amendment places restrictions on certain acquisitions of Company stock that otherwise may have increased the likelihood of an ownership change within the meaning of Section 382. The amendment generally prohibits a person from becoming a “Section 382 five-percent shareholder” by acquiring, directly or by attribution, 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock and will generally restrict existing “Section 382 five-percent shareholders” from increasing their ownership interest under Section 382 by more than one percentage point over their percentage stock ownership immediately prior to the effective date of the amendment or, if lower, their percentage thereafter. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that MBIA Inc. will not undergo an ownership change at a time when these limitations could have a materially adverse effect on the Company's financial condition.
Changes in U.S. federal income tax law could materially adversely affect the value of the Company’s net deferred tax asset.
MBIA Inc. carries a net deferred tax asset whose value is calculated by application of the federal corporate taxation rates in effect at the time of determination. Changes in applicable U.S. tax laws and regulations, or their interpretation and application, including the possibility of retroactive effect, could affect our net deferred tax asset. As a result of the Company having established a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax asset in 2017, any adjustment to the Company’s net deferred tax asset, will likely result in a corresponding change to the Company’s valuation allowance, resulting in no impact to the Company’s balance sheet or income statement.
Ineffective internal controls, including internal control over financial reporting, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation.
We cannot be certain that we will not identify control deficiencies or material weaknesses in the future. Ineffective internal controls over entities (including any entities the Company controls, is affiliated with or exercises significant influence over as a result of the Zohar Recoveries or otherwise) could result in failure to ensure that such entities comply with applicable laws. If we fail to remediate a material weakness or fail to otherwise maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, such failure could result in a material misstatement of our annual or quarterly financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis and which could cause investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial statements, limit our ability to raise capital and have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. Additionally, failure to remediate a material weakness or otherwise failing to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation, and could impair our ability to timely file our periodic reports with the SEC, subject us to litigation and regulatory actions and cause us to incur substantial additional costs in future periods relating to the implementation of remedial measures.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (continued)
Capital, Liquidity and Market Related Risk Factors
We are a holding company and rely to a significant degree on cash flow from National. A disruption in this cash flow or an inability to access third-party capital could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition and ultimately adversely affect liquidity.
As a holding company, MBIA Inc. is largely dependent on dividends from National to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness and operating expenses, among other items. We expect that for the foreseeable future, National alone will be the source of dividends to the Company, and it is subject to various statutory and regulatory restrictions applicable to insurance companies generally, that limit the amount of cash dividends, loans and advances that it may pay. See “New York State Dividend Limitations” in Part 1, Item 1 and “Note 13: Insurance Regulations and Dividends” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of MBIA Inc. and Subsidiaries in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for a further discussion of dividends.
We may also from time to time seek to raise capital from external sources. The Company’s access to external sources of financing, as well as the cost of such financing would be influenced by various factors, which could include (i) the long-term debt ratings of the Company, (ii) expected dividends from National, (iii) the financial condition and business prospects of our insurance companies and (iv) the perceptions of the financial strength of MBIA Inc. and our insurance companies. There can be no assurance that an inability to obtain adequate capital on favorable terms, or at all, would not adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Consequently, National's inability to pay dividends or our inability to access capital from external sources on favorable terms could have an adverse impact on our ability to pay losses and debt obligations, to pay dividends on our capital stock, to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness, to pay our operating expenses and to make capital investments in our subsidiaries. In addition, future capital raises for equity or equity-linked securities could result in dilution to the Company's shareholders. Also, some securities that the Company could issue, such as preferred stock or securities issued by the Company's operating subsidiaries may have rights, preferences and privileges that are senior to those of its common shares.
MBIA Inc. has substantial indebtedness, and may incur additional indebtedness, which could adversely affect our financial condition, and/or our ability to obtain financing in the future, react to changes in our business and/or satisfy our obligations.
As of December 31, 2025, MBIA Inc. had $472 million of medium-term note liabilities, $233 million of Senior Notes liabilities and $174 million of investment agreement liabilities. Our substantial indebtedness and other liabilities could have material consequences because:
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we may be unable to obtain additional financing, should such a need arise, which may limit our ability to satisfy obligations with respect to our debt;
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a large portion of MBIA Inc.’s financial resources must be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, thereby reducing the funds available to use for other purposes;
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it may be more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations to our creditors, resulting in possible defaults on, and acceleration of, such debt;
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we may be more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
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our ability to refinance debt may be limited or the associated costs may increase;
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our flexibility to adjust to changing market conditions could be limited; and
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we are exposed to the risk of fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates because a portion of our liabilities are at variable rates of interest or denominated in foreign currencies.
Adverse developments in the credit markets may materially and adversely affect MBIA Inc.’s ability to post collateral and meet other liquidity needs.
Currently, a significant portion of the cash and securities of MBIA Inc. are pledged against investment agreement liabilities, and intercompany financing arrangements, which limit its ability to raise liquidity through asset sales. If the market value or rating eligibility of the assets which are pledged against MBIA Inc.’s obligations were to decline, we would be required to pledge additional eligible assets in order to meet minimum required collateral amounts against these liabilities. In such an event, we may sell assets, potentially with substantial losses, finance unencumbered assets through intercompany facilities, or use free cash or other assets, although there can be no assurance that these strategies will be available or adequate to meet liquidity requirements.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (continued)
The level of interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates could materially and adversely affect our financial condition.
Increases in prevailing interest rate levels can adversely affect the value of our investment portfolios and, therefore, our financial condition. In the event that investments must be sold in order to make payments on insured exposures or other liabilities, such investments would likely be sold at discounted prices. Increases in interest rates also adversely affect the values of investments collateralizing our investment agreement liabilities in our corporate operations, which would require the Company to post additional collateral to its counterparties. In the insurance operations, with respect to credit risk, increasing interest rates could lead to increased stress on transactions in our insured portfolio with floating rate liabilities. Increasing interest rates could also result in a lower present value of salvage reserves while declining interest rates could result in a higher present value of future loss payments. Lower interest rates can result in lower net interest income since a substantial amount of assets are now held in cash and cash equivalents given the increased focus on liquidity.
In addition, the Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuation risk in respect of assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars. In addition to insured liabilities denominated in foreign currencies, some of the remaining liabilities in our corporate segment are denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars and the assets of our corporate segment are predominantly denominated in U.S. dollars. Accordingly, the weakening of the U.S. dollar versus foreign currencies could substantially increase our potential obligations and statutory capital exposure. Exchange rates have fluctuated significantly in recent periods and may continue to do so in the future, which could adversely impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
MBIA Corp. Risk Factors
As described further and for the reasons stated herein, we believe that MBIA Corp. will not provide significant economic or shareholder value to MBIA Inc. For additional information on MBIA Corp., refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations—International and Structured Finance Insurance” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. Additionally, also as described further herein, given the separation of MBIA Inc. and MBIA Corp. as distinct legal entities, the absence of any cross defaults between the entities, and the lack of reliance by MBIA Inc. on MBIA Corp. for the receipt of dividends, we do not believe that a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding of MBIA Insurance Corporation by the NYSDFS would have any material economic impact on the financial condition or liquidity of MBIA Inc. However, there can be no assurance that the financial condition or a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding of MBIA Insurance Corporation would not have an adverse impact on MBIA Inc. The risk factors described below with respect to MBIA Corp. are set forth for that reason, as well as for an independent understanding of the risks to MBIA Corp.
Continuing elevated loss payments and delay or failure in realizing expected recoveries on insured transactions may materially and adversely affect MBIA Insurance Corporation’s statutory capital and its ability to meet liquidity needs and could cause the NYSDFS to put MBIA Insurance Corporation into a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding if the NYSDFS concludes that MBIA Insurance Corporation will not be able to pay expected claims.
MBIA Insurance Corporation is particularly sensitive to the risk that it will not have sufficient capital or liquid resources to meet contractual payment obligations when due or to make settlement payments in order to terminate insured exposures to avoid losses. While management’s expected liquidity and capital forecasts for MBIA Insurance Corporation reflect adequate resources to pay expected claims, there are risks to the capital and liquidity forecasts as MBIA Insurance Corporation’s remaining insured exposures and its expected salvage recoveries are potentially volatile. Such volatility exists in salvage that MBIA Insurance Corporation may collect, including in particular recoveries related to the claims it paid in respect of the insured notes issued by Zohar collateralized debt obligation (“CDO”) 2003-1, Limited and Zohar II 2005-1 CDO (collectively, the “Zohar Recoveries”), and the exposure in its remaining insured portfolio, which could deteriorate and result in significant additional loss reserves and claim payments, including claims on insured exposures that in some cases may require large bullet payments. In addition, if we fail to maintain effective internal controls over entities (including any entities the Company controls, is affiliated with or exercises significant influence over as a result of the Zohar Recoveries or otherwise), this could result in failure to ensure that such entities comply with applicable laws.
While MBIA Insurance Corporation believes that it will receive a substantial recovery on the Zohar Recoveries, there still remains significant uncertainty with respect to the realizable value of these assets.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (continued)
If the Zohar Recoveries fall below our expectations, MBIA Insurance Corporation would likely incur additional and potentially substantial losses, which could materially impair its statutory capital and liquidity. Further, MBIA Insurance Corporation believes that if the NYSDFS concludes at any time that MBIA Insurance Corporation will not be able to satisfy its obligations under its other issued policies, the NYSDFS would likely put MBIA Insurance Corporation into a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding under Article 74 of the NYIL and/or take such other actions as the NYSDFS may deem necessary to protect the interests of MBIA Insurance Corporation’s policyholders. The determination to commence such a proceeding or take other such actions is within the exclusive control of the NYSDFS. The NYSDFS enjoys broad discretion in this regard, and any determination they may make would not be limited to consideration of the matters described above. As noted, however, given the separation of MBIA Inc. and MBIA Corp. as distinct legal entities, the absence of any cross defaults between the entities, and the lack of reliance by MBIA Inc. on MBIA Corp. for the receipt of dividends, we do not believe that a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding of MBIA Insurance Corporation by the NYSDFS would have any material economic long-term liquidity impact on MBIA Inc.
MBIA Corp. insures certain transactions that continue to perform poorly and increased losses or a delay or failure in collecting expected recoveries may materially and adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.
MBIA Corp. insures certain structured finance transactions that remain volatile and could result in additional losses, which could be substantial. MBIA Corp. has also recorded significant loss reserves on its residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”), and there can be no assurance that these reserves will be sufficient, in particular if the economy deteriorates. These transactions are also subject to servicer risk, which relates to problems with the transaction’s servicer that could adversely affect performance of the underlying assets. As of December 31, 2025, MBIA Corp. recorded expected RMBS recoveries of $48 million, including recoveries related to consolidated VIEs, on our RMBS transactions, in reimbursement of our past and future expected claims. Of this amount, $22 million is included in “Insurance loss recoverable” and $26 million is included in “Loss and loss adjustment expense reserves” on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. RMBS recoveries relate to structural features within the trust structures that allow for the Company to be reimbursed for prior claims paid. These reimbursements for specific trusts include recoveries that are generated from the excess spread of the transactions. Excess spread within insured RMBS securitizations is the difference between interest inflows on mortgage loan collateral and interest outflows on the insured RMBS notes. There can be no assurance that this recovery will be received in its entirety or in the expected timeframe.
An MBIA Insurance Corporation rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding could accelerate certain of the Company’s other obligations and have other adverse consequences.
As noted above, MBIA Insurance Corporation continues to face a number of significant risks and contingencies, which could, if realized, result in MBIA Insurance Corporation being placed into a rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding by the NYSDFS. In the event of an MBIA Insurance Corporation rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding, the Company may be subject to, among other things, the following:
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MTNs issued by MBIA Global Funding LLC (“GFL”), which are insured by MBIA Insurance Corporation, would accelerate. To the extent GFL failed to pay the accelerated amounts under the GFL MTNs, the MTN holders would have policy claims against MBIA Insurance Corporation for scheduled payments of interest and principal;
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An MBIA Insurance Corporation proceeding may accelerate certain investment agreements issued by MBIA Inc., including, in some cases, with make-whole payments. While the investment agreements are fully collateralized with high quality collateral, the settlements of these amounts could reduce MBIA Inc.’s liquidity resources, and to the extent MBIA Inc. fails to pay the accelerated amounts under these investment agreements or the collateral securing these investment agreements is deemed insufficient to pay the accelerated amounts due, the holders of the investment agreements would have policy claims against MBIA Insurance Corporation;
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The payment of installment premiums due to National from MBIA Insurance Corporation under the reinsurance agreement between National and MBIA Insurance Corporation (Refer to Item 1, “Our Insurance Operations”, “Reinsurance” for a description of the agreement) could be disrupted, delayed or subordinated to the claims of policyholders of MBIA Insurance Corporation;
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The rehabilitator or liquidator could replace the Board of Directors of MBIA Insurance Corporation and take control of the operations and assets of MBIA Insurance Corporation, which would result in the Company losing control of MBIA Insurance Corporation and possible changes to MBIA Insurance Corporation’s strategies and management; and
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (continued)
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Unplanned costs on MBIA Inc., as well as significant additional expenses for MBIA Insurance Corporation arising from the appointment of a rehabilitator or liquidator, as receiver, and payment of the fees and expenses of the advisors to such rehabilitator or liquidator.
Revenues and liquidity would be adversely impacted by a decline in realization of installment premiums.
Due to the installment nature of a significant percentage of its premium income, MBIA Corp. has an embedded future revenue stream. The amount of installment premiums actually realized by MBIA Corp. could be reduced in the future due to factors such as early termination of insurance contracts, accelerated prepayments of underlying obligations, commutation of existing financial guarantee insurance policies or non-payment. Such a reduction would result in lower revenues and reduced liquidity.
General Risk Factors
Interruption in information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems, could harm our business.
We depend heavily on our information technology and other operational systems and on the integrity and timeliness of data we use to run our businesses. These systems may fail to operate properly or become disabled as a result of events or circumstances wholly or partly beyond our control. Further, we face the risk of operational and technology failures by others, including various financial intermediaries, vendors and parties to which we outsource the provision of services or business operations. If this risk is realized, we may experience operational difficulties, increased costs and other adverse effects on our business.
Despite our implementation and maintenance of a cybersecurity program which includes a variety of security measures, our information technology systems, networks and data could be subject to cyber-attacks or physical break-ins, unauthorized tampering or other security breaches, resulting in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive information. For additional information relating to cybersecurity, refer to the “Item 1C. Cybersecurity” section in Part I, Item 1C of this Form 10-K.
Interruption in information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems, whether due to actions or inactions by us or others, could delay or disrupt our ability to do business, harm our reputation, subject us to regulatory sanctions and other claims, lead to a loss of revenues and/or otherwise adversely affect our business.
The Company is dependent on key executives and the loss of any of these executives, or its inability to retain other key personnel, could adversely affect its business.
The Company’s success substantially depends upon its human capital management including its ability to retain qualified employees and upon the ability of its senior management and other key employees to implement its business strategy. The Company believes there are only a limited number of available qualified executives in the business lines in which the Company operates. The Company relies substantially upon the services of William C. Fallon, Chief Executive Officer, and other senior executives. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to retain the services of key executives. While the Company has a succession plan for key executives and does not expect the departure of any key executives to have a material adverse effect on its operations, there can be no assurance that the loss of the services of any of these individuals or other key members of the Company’s management team would not adversely affect the implementation of its business strategy.