European banks’ capital raising
Will Europe’s banks need another trip to the cash machine?
Recent downgrades of monolines have raised fears about a domino effect leading to market losses of the securities they guarantee.
MBIA, the world’s biggest bond insurer, offered some respite from the gloom that has surrounded it and other financial guarantors by announcing it was not changing its projection of losses on its mortgage-related exposures
SCA’s rescue raises the question of whether it can be repeated for the long list of bond insurers that have guaranteed billions of dollars of collateralised debt obligations backed by risky mortgages
The ratings agency is looking at a possible downgrade of the triple-A credit ratings of Assured Guaranty and Financial Security Assurance on concerns over exposure and losses
As investors digest a recent spate of rating downgrades for the bond insurers, concerns have surfaced about risks that could affect the last remaining insurers with triple-A credit ratings and further darken the outlook for the troubled industry.
Discussions about insurance contracts between banks and bond insurers are fiendishly complex and could take months, writes Aline van Duyn
What are monolines and how do they work? Our interactive feature explains what the threat to their triple-A ratings from the credit agencies could mean for investors, banks, municipal bond issuers and the monolines themselves.
Will Europe’s banks need another trip to the cash machine?
Further evidence of the dangers of dabbling in derivatives markets is emerging in the troubled bond insurance sector
Six months ago, Ambac’s corporate motto, ‘Financial Peace of Mind’, was a cruel joke. Now the slogan looks slightly less heinous
Three months after raising $2.6bn, the bond insurer is finally looking to move the cash to its intended destination

Downgrades to double A for Ambac and MBIA raise doubts about them doing new business, writes Aline van Duyn
A belief is growing on Wall Street that the credit market turmoil could finally be abating
Remember the monolines? Before Bear Stearns took centre stage, embattled bond insurers represented the biggest worry on Wall Street. Ambac’s latest results should help to drag back the spotlight