Note 12: Business Segments

MBIA manages its activities through three principal business operations: U.S. public finance insurance, structured finance and international insurance, and advisory services. The Company’s U.S. public finance insurance business is operated through National, its structured finance and international insurance business is operated through MBIA Corp., and its advisory services business is primarily operated through Cutwater. MBIA Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries also manage certain other business activities, the results of which are reported in its corporate, asset/liability products, and conduit segments. The corporate segment includes revenues and expenses that arise from general corporate activities. While the asset/liability products and conduit businesses represent separate business segments, they may be referred to collectively as “wind-down operations” as the funding programs managed through those businesses are in wind-down.

As defined by segment reporting, an operating segment is a component of a company (i) that engages in business activities from which it earns revenue and incurs expenses, (ii) whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker to assess the performance of the segment and to make decisions about the allocation of resources to the segment and, (iii) for which discrete financial information is available. The following sections provide a description of each of the Company’s reportable operating segments.

U.S. Public Finance Insurance

The Company’s U.S. public finance insurance segment is principally conducted through National. The financial guarantees issued by National provide unconditional and irrevocable guarantees of the payment of principal of, and interest or other amounts owing on, U.S. public finance insured obligations when due. The obligations are generally not subject to acceleration, except that National may have the right, at its discretion, to accelerate insured obligations upon default or otherwise. National issues financial guarantees for municipal bonds, including tax-exempt and taxable indebtedness of U.S. political subdivisions, as well as utility districts, airports, health care institutions, higher educational facilities, student loan issuers, housing authorities and other similar agencies and obligations issued by private entities that finance projects that serve a substantial public purpose. Municipal bonds and privately issued bonds used for the financing of public purpose projects are generally supported by taxes, assessments, fees or tariffs related to the use of these projects, lease payments or other similar types of revenue streams. National has not written any meaningful amount of business since its formation in 2009.

Structured Finance and International Insurance

The Company’s structured finance and international insurance segment is principally conducted through MBIA Corp. The financial guarantees issued by MBIA Corp. generally provide unconditional and irrevocable guarantees of the payment of principal of, and interest or other amounts owing on, global structured finance and non-U.S. public finance insured obligations when due, or in the event MBIA Corp. has the right, at its discretion, to accelerate insured obligations upon default or otherwise, upon MBIA Corp.’s acceleration. Certain guaranteed investment contracts written by MBIA Inc. are insured by MBIA Corp., and if MBIA Inc. were to have insufficient assets to pay amounts due upon maturity or termination, MBIA Corp. would make such payments. MBIA Corp. also insures debt obligations of the following affiliates:

•

MBIA Inc.;

•

GFL;

•

Meridian Funding Company, LLC;

•

LaCrosse Financial Products, LLC, a wholly-owned affiliate, in which MBIA Corp. has written insurance policies guaranteeing the obligations under CDS, including termination payments that may become due upon certain events including the insolvency or payment default of the financial guarantor or the CDS issuer.

MBIA Corp.’s guarantees insure structured finance and asset-backed obligations, privately issued bonds used for the financing of public purpose projects, which are primarily located outside of the U.S. and that include toll roads, bridges, airports, public transportation facilities, utilities and other types of infrastructure projects serving a substantial public purpose, and obligations of sovereign-related and sub-sovereign issuers. Structured finance and ABS typically are securities repayable from expected cash flows generated by a specified pool of assets, such as residential and commercial mortgages, insurance policies, consumer loans, corporate loans and bonds, trade and export receivables, leases for equipment, aircraft and real estate property. The Company is no longer insuring new credit derivative contracts except for transactions related to the reduction of existing derivative exposure. MBIA Corp. has not written any meaningful amount of business since 2008.

Advisory Services

The advisory services segment primarily consists of the operations of Cutwater-ISC, Cutwater Asset Management Corp. (“Cutwater-AMC”), and Trifinium Advisors (UK) Limited (“Trifinium”). Cutwater-ISC and Cutwater-AMC offers advisory services, including cash management, discretionary asset management and structured products on a fee-for-service basis. Cutwater offers these services to public, not-for-profit, corporate and financial services clients, including MBIA Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as portfolio accounting and reporting services. Cutwater-ISC and Cutwater-AMC are SEC registered investment advisers. Cutwater-AMC is also a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member firm. Trifinium provides fee-based asset management and advisory services to the Company’s foreign insurance affiliate and to third-party clients and investment structures. Trifinium is registered with the Financial Services Authority in the U.K.

Corporate

The Company’s corporate segment is a reportable segment and includes revenues and expenses that arise from general corporate activities, such as fees, net investment income, net gains and losses, interest expense on MBIA Inc. debt and general corporate expenses. In the first quarter of 2010, MBIA established a service company, Optinuity Alliance Resources Corporation, which provides general support services to the corporate segment and other operating businesses. Employees of the service company provide various support services including management, legal, accounting, treasury, information technology, and insurance portfolio surveillance, among others, on a fee-for-service basis. The service company’s revenues and expenses are included in the results of the corporate segment.

Wind-down Operations

The Company’s wind-down operations consist of the asset/liability products and conduit segments. The asset/liability products segment principally consists of the activities of MBIA Inc., MBIA Investment Management Corp. (“IMC”), GFL and Euro Asset Acquisition Limited (“EAAL”). IMC, along with MBIA Inc., provided customized investment agreements, guaranteed by MBIA Corp., for bond proceeds and other public funds for such purposes as construction, loan origination, escrow and debt service or other reserve fund requirements. It also provided customized products for funds that are invested as part of asset-backed or structured product transactions. GFL raised funds through the issuance of MTNs with varying maturities, which are, in turn, guaranteed by MBIA Corp. GFL lent the proceeds of these MTN issuances to MBIA Inc. (“GFL Loans”). MBIA Inc. invests the proceeds of investment agreements and GFL Loans in eligible investments, which consists of investment grade securities rated investment grade at the time of purchase and maintained a minimum average double-A credit quality rating at the time of purchase. MBIA Inc. primarily purchases domestic securities, which are pledged to MBIA Corp. as security for its guarantees on investment agreements and MTNs. Additionally, MBIA Inc. had loaned a portion of the proceeds from investment agreements and MTNs to EAAL. EAAL primarily purchases foreign assets as permitted under the Company’s investment guidelines.

The Company’s conduit segment administers one conduit through MBIA Asset Finance, LLC. Assets financed by this conduit are currently funded by MTNs.

The ratings downgrades of MBIA Corp. have resulted in a substantial reduction of funding activities and the termination and collateralization of certain investment agreements, as well as winding down of existing asset/liability products and conduit obligations.

Segments Results

The following tables provide the Company’s segment results for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010:


	Year Ended December 31, 2012
	U.S. Public		Structured Finance and
	Finance		International		Advisory				Wind-down
In millions	Insurance		Insurance		Services		Corporate		Operations		Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues⁽¹⁾	$	548	$	243	$	21	$	15	$	53	$	—		$	880
Realized gains (losses) and other settlements on insured derivatives		1		(407)		—		—		—		—			(406)
Unrealized gains (losses) on insured derivatives		—		1,870		—		—		—		—			1,870
Net gains (losses) on financial instruments at fair value and foreign exchange		121		93		(1)		18		(176)		—			55
Net investment losses related to other-than-temporary impairments		—		(45)		—		(4)		(56)		—			(105)
Net gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt		—		—		—		(2)		2		—			—
Other net realized gains (losses)		—		1		—		5		1		—			7
Revenues of consolidated VIEs		—		71		—		—		63		—			134
Inter-segment revenues⁽²⁾		168		45		34		176		(14)		(409)			—

Total revenues		838		1,871		54		208		(127)		(409)			2,435
Losses and loss adjustment		21		29		—		—		—		—			50
Operating		124		147		46		109		5		—			431
Interest		—		132		—		57		95		—			284
Expenses of consolidated VIEs		—		59		—		—		13		—			72
Inter-segment expenses⁽²⁾		124		208		13		14		116		(475)			—

Total expenses		269		575		59		180		229		(475)			837

Income (loss) before income taxes	$	569	$	1,296	$	(5)	$	28	$	(356)	$	66		$	1,598

Identifiable assets	$	6,887	$	17,264	$	46	$	828	$	2,539	$	(5,840)	⁽³⁾	$	21,724

(1)—Represents the sum of third-party financial guarantee net premiums earned, net investment income, insurance-related fees and reimbursements, investment management fees and other fees.

(2)—Represents intercompany premium income and expense, intercompany asset management fees and expenses, intercompany interest income, expenses pertaining to intercompany receivables and payables and intercompany loans.

(3)—Consists of intercompany reinsurance balances, repurchase agreements, deferred taxes, and loans.


	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	U.S. Public		Structured Finance and
	Finance		International		Advisory				Wind-down
In millions	Insurance		Insurance		Services		Corporate		Operations		Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues⁽¹⁾	$	599	$	319	$	26	$	4	$	90	$	—		$	1,038
Realized gains (losses) and other settlements on insured derivatives		2		(2,373)		—		—		—		—			(2,371)
Unrealized gains (losses) on insured derivatives		—		(441)		—		—		—		—			(441)
Net gains (losses) on financial instruments at fair value and foreign exchange		96		58		—		23		(276)		—			(99)
Net investment losses related to other-than-temporary impairments		—		(62)		—		(8)		(31)		—			(101)
Net gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt		—		—		—		—		24		2			26
Other net realized gains (losses)		(31)		1		—		25		4		—			(1)
Revenues of consolidated VIEs		—		361		—		—		31		—			392
Inter-segment revenues⁽²⁾		79		91		41		152		(23)		(340)			—

Total revenues		745		(2,046)		67		196		(181)		(338)			(1,557)
Losses and loss adjustment		4		(84)		—		—		—		—			(80)
Operating		52		166		58		92		3		—			371
Interest		—		133		—		58		109		—			300
Expenses of consolidated VIEs		—		70		—		—		21		—			91
Inter-segment expenses⁽²⁾		114		124		6		22		95		(361)			—

Total expenses		170		409		64		172		228		(361)			682

Income (loss) before income taxes	$	575	$	(2,455)	$	3	$	24	$	(409)	$	23		$	(2,239)

Identifiable assets	$	7,848	$	19,985	$	53	$	829	$	5,203	$	(7,045)	⁽³⁾	$	26,873

(1)—Represents the sum of third-party financial guarantee net premiums earned, net investment income, insurance-related fees and reimbursements, investment management fees and other fees.

(2)—Represents intercompany premium income and expense, intercompany asset management fees and expenses, and intercompany interest income and expense pertaining to intercompany receivables and payables.

(3)—Consists of intercompany reinsurance balances, repurchase agreements and loans.


	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	U.S. Public		Structured Finance and
	Finance		International		Advisory				Wind-down
In millions	Insurance		Insurance		Services		Corporate		Operations		Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues⁽¹⁾	$	601	$	463	$	30	$	4	$	113	$	—		$	1,211
Realized gains (losses) and other settlements on insured derivatives		1		(163)		—		—		—		—			(162)
Unrealized gains (losses) on insured derivatives		—		(607)		—		—		—		—			(607)
Net gains (losses) on financial instruments at fair value and foreign exchange		55		135		2		(28)		(76)		—			88
Net investment losses related to other-than-temporary impairments		—		(5)		—		—		(59)		—			(64)
Net gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt		—		—		—		—		35		—			35
Other net realized gains (losses)		—		29		—		—		—		—			29
Revenues of consolidated VIEs		—		246		—		—		96		22			364
Inter-segment revenues⁽²⁾		93		113		38		94		(18)		(320)			—

Total revenues		750		211		70		70		91		(298)			894
Losses and loss adjustment		73		159		—		—		—		—			232
Operating		43		149		64		89		4		—			349
Interest		—		135		—		65		125		—			325
Expenses of consolidated VIEs		—		64		—		—		19		—			83
Inter-segment expenses⁽²⁾		104		135		7		14		60		(320)			—

Total expenses		220		642		71		168		208		(320)			989

Income (loss) before income taxes	$	530	$	(431)	$	(1)	$	(98)	$	(117)	$	22		$	(95)

Identifiable assets	$	8,436	$	23,980	$	54	$	653	$	6,432	$	(7,276)	⁽³⁾	$	32,279

(1)—Represents

the sum of third-party financial guarantee net premiums earned, net investment income, insurance-related fees and reimbursements, investment management fees and other fees.

(2)—Represents

intercompany premium income and expense, intercompany asset management fees and expenses, and intercompany interest income and expense pertaining to intercompany receivables and payables.

(3)—Consists

of intercompany reinsurance balances, repurchase agreements and loans.

Premiums on financial guarantees and insured derivatives reported within the Company’s insurance segments are generated within and outside the U.S. The following table summarizes premiums earned on financial guarantees and insured derivatives by geographic location of risk for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010:


	Years Ended December 31,
In millions	2012		2011		2010
Total premiums earned:
United States	$	530	$	545	$	555
United Kingdom		36		37		35
Europe (excluding United Kingdom)		15		29		23
Internationally diversified		16		33		41
Central and South America		48		36		40
Asia		5		15		9
Other		11		13		11

Total	$	661	$	708	$	714

The following tables provide the results of the segments within the wind-down operations for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010:


	Year Ended December 31, 2012
	Asset /						Total Wind-
	Liability						down
In millions	Products		Conduits		Eliminations		Operations
Revenues⁽¹⁾	$	53	$	—	$	—	$	53
Net gains (losses) on financial instruments at fair value and foreign exchange		(176)		—		—		(176)
Net investment losses related to other-than-temporary impairments		(56)		—		—		(56)
Net gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt		2		—		—		2
Other net realized gains (losses)		1		—		—		1
Revenues of consolidated VIEs		—		63		—		63
Inter-segment revenues⁽²⁾		(10)		(2)		(2)		(14)

Total revenues		(186)		61		(2)		(127)
Operating		5		—		—		5
Interest		95		—		—		95
Expenses of consolidated VIEs		—		13		—		13
Inter-segment expenses⁽²⁾		19		97		—		116

Total expenses		119		110		—		229

Income (loss) before income taxes	$	(305)	$	(49)	$	(2)	$	(356)

Identifiable assets	$	1,877	$	694	$	(32)	$	2,539

(1)—Represents the sum of third-party interest income, investment management services fees and other fees.

(2)—Represents intercompany asset management fees and expenses plus intercompany interest income and expense pertaining to intercompany debt.


	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	Asset /						Total Wind-
	Liability						down
In millions	Products		Conduits		Eliminations		Operations
Revenues⁽¹⁾	$	90	$	—	$	—	$	90
Net gains (losses) on financial instruments at fair value and foreign exchange		(276)		—		—		(276)
Net investment losses related to other-than-temporary impairments		(31)		—		—		(31)
Net gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt		24		—		—		24
Other net realized gains (losses)		4		—		—		4
Revenues of consolidated VIEs		11		20		—		31
Inter-segment revenues⁽²⁾		(19)		(4)		—		(23)

Total revenues		(197)		16		—		(181)
Operating		3		—		—		3
Interest		109		—		—		109
Expenses of consolidated VIEs		2		19		—		21
Inter-segment expenses⁽²⁾		29		66		—		95

Total expenses		143		85		—		228

Income (loss) before income taxes	$	(340)	$	(69)	$	—	$	(409)

Identifiable assets	$	3,752	$	1,531	$	(80)	$	5,203

(1)—Represents the sum of third-party interest income, investment management services fees and other fees.

(2)—Represents intercompany asset management fees and expenses plus intercompany interest income and expense pertaining to intercompany debt.


	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	Asset /						Total Wind-
	Liability						down
In millions	Products		Conduits		Eliminations		Operations
Revenues⁽¹⁾	$	109	$	4	$	—	$	113
Net gains (losses) on financial instruments at fair value and foreign exchange		(76)		—		—		(76)
Net investment losses related to other-than-temporary impairments		(59)		—		—		(59)
Net gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt		35		—		—		35
Revenues of consolidated VIEs		44		52		—		96
Inter-segment revenues⁽²⁾		(13)		(4)		(1)		(18)

Total revenues		40		52		(1)		91
Operating		5		(1)		—		4
Interest		125		—		—		125
Expenses of consolidated VIEs		—		19		—		19
Inter-segment expenses⁽²⁾		58		3		(1)		60

Total expenses		188		21		(1)		208

Income (loss) before income taxes	$	(148)	$	31	$	—	$	(117)

Identifiable assets	$	5,125	$	1,565	$	(258)	$	6,432

(1)—Represents the sum of third-party interest income, investment management services fees and other fees.

(2)—Represents intercompany asset management fees and expenses plus intercompany interest income and expense pertaining to intercompany debt.