-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, Cni1XuGenLtcomfqTyvcueCnBPz2lTB/KhF18t1C3HW4uBOQx+dW5B4QdBE5oSRg Mfber/N/5B4/WK35Su/Tbw== 0001193125-06-228162.txt : 20061108 0001193125-06-228162.hdr.sgml : 20061108 20061108143520 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001193125-06-228162 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 10-Q PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 9 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20060930 FILED AS OF DATE: 20061108 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20061108 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: AMBAC FINANCIAL GROUP INC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000874501 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: SURETY INSURANCE [6351] IRS NUMBER: 133621676 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 10-Q SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 001-10777 FILM NUMBER: 061196900 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: ONE STATE ST PLZ CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10004 BUSINESS PHONE: 2126680340 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: ONE STATE ST PLZ CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10004 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: AMBAC INC /DE/ DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19930328 10-Q 1 d10q.htm FORM 10-Q Form 10-Q
Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 


FORM 10-Q

 


 

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2006

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number: 1-10777

 


Ambac Financial Group, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 


 

Delaware   13-3621676
(State of incorporation)   (I.R.S. employer identification no.)

One State Street Plaza

New York, New York

  10004
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip code)

(212) 668-0340

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 


Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): (Check one):

Large accelerated filer  x    Accelerated filer  ¨    Non-accelerated filer  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

As of November 3, 2006, 106,093,791 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, (net of 3,099,305 treasury shares) of the Registrant were outstanding.

 



Table of Contents

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

INDEX

 

         PAGE

PART I

 

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

  

Item 1.

 

Financial Statements of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

  
 

Consolidated Balance Sheets – September 30, 2006 (unaudited) and December 31, 2005

   3
 

Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited) – three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

   4
 

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (unaudited) – nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

   5
 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited) – nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

   6
 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

   7

Item 2.

 

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

   24

Item 3.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

   50

Item 4.

 

Controls and Procedures

   54

PART II

 

OTHER INFORMATION

  

Item 2.

 

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

   55

Item 6.

 

Exhibits

   55

SIGNATURES

   57

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

   58


Table of Contents

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

     September 30, 2006     December 31, 2005  
     (unaudited)        

Assets

    

Investments:

    

Fixed income securities, at fair value
(amortized cost of $16,526,366 in 2006 and $14,781,028 in 2005)

   $ 16,855,600     $ 15,124,016  

Fixed income securities pledged as collateral, at fair value
(amortized cost of $381,625 in 2006 and $378,480 in 2005)

     375,288       371,160  

Short-term investments, at cost (approximates fair value)

     277,763       472,034  

Other (cost of $98,467 in 2006 and $13,537 in 2005)

     99,474       14,173  
                

Total investments

     17,608,125       15,981,383  

Cash

     42,182       28,295  

Securities purchased under agreements to resell

     200,000       419,000  

Receivable for securities sold

     1,909       2,161  

Investment income due and accrued

     182,942       178,779  

Reinsurance recoverable on paid and unpaid losses

     5,292       3,730  

Prepaid reinsurance

     311,564       303,383  

Deferred acquisition costs

     220,252       202,195  

Loans

     1,199,287       1,344,140  

Derivative assets

     1,125,519       1,102,649  

Other assets

     113,619       159,425  
                

Total assets

   $ 21,010,691     $ 19,725,140  
                

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

    

Liabilities:

    

Unearned premiums

   $ 3,030,641     $ 2,954,718  

Loss and loss expense reserve

     279,614       304,139  

Ceded reinsurance balances payable

     16,964       23,746  

Obligations under investment and payment agreements

     7,743,869       7,056,222  

Obligations under investment repurchase agreements

     157,151       196,568  

Securities sold under agreement to repurchase

     57,000       —    

Deferred income taxes

     261,228       257,987  

Current income taxes

     29,281       16,726  

Long-term debt

     2,213,303       2,233,582  

Accrued interest payable

     108,247       108,195  

Derivative liabilities

     846,911       935,440  

Other liabilities

     254,577       253,969  

Payable for securities purchased

     6,588       11,641  
                

Total liabilities

     15,005,374       14,352,933  
                

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Preferred stock

     —         —    

Common stock

     1,092       1,092  

Additional paid-in capital

     755,749       723,680  

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     199,752       202,312  

Retained earnings

     5,265,443       4,692,701  

Common stock held in treasury at cost

     (216,719 )     (247,578 )
                

Total stockholders’ equity

     6,005,317       5,372,207  
                

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 21,010,691     $ 19,725,140  
                

See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

 

3


Table of Contents

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

For the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

(Dollars in Thousands Except Share Data)

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
   

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

 
     2006     2005     2006     2005  

Revenues:

        

Financial Guarantee:

        

Gross premiums written

   $ 212,301     $ 237,943     $ 744,766     $ 789,697  

Ceded premiums written

     (26,351 )     (34,296 )     (75,341 )     (61,707 )
                                

Net premiums written

   $ 185,950     $ 203,647     $ 669,425     $ 727,990  
                                

Net premiums earned

   $ 198,499     $ 218,098     $ 603,467     $ 610,974  

Other credit enhancement fees

     16,057       13,014       44,400       37,617  
                                

Net premiums earned and other credit enhancement fees

     214,556       231,112       647,867       648,591  

Net investment income

     120,247       110,646       351,185       317,104  

Net realized investment gains

     1,329       5,013       2,842       6,004  

Net mark-to-market gains (losses) on credit derivative contracts

     2,572       1,555       9,906       (4,785 )

Other income

     2,655       2,859       35,039       6,150  

Financial Services:

        

Investment income

     107,191       70,854       287,174       192,951  

Derivative products

     3,252       8,896       11,259       13,202  

Net realized investment gains

     6,636       4,520       53,867       4,808  

Net mark-to-market (losses) gains on total return swap contracts

     (501 )     2,347       6,540       (2,255 )

Net mark-to-market (losses) gains on non-trading derivatives

     (1,175 )     (57 )     (1,237 )     48,869  

Corporate:

        

Net investment income

     3,545       515       9,941       1,320  

Net realized investment gains

     —         —         791       —    
                                

Total revenues

     460,307       438,260       1,415,174       1,231,959  
                                

Expenses:

        

Financial Guarantee:

        

Loss and loss expenses

     (2,543 )     89,126       10,406       134,255  

Underwriting and operating expenses

     30,192       27,844       99,959       89,939  

Interest expense on variable interest entity notes

     12,754       11,623       37,335       35,018  

Financial Services:

        

Interest on investment and payment agreements

     97,126       62,602       262,624       170,781  

Operating expenses

     3,119       2,912       9,994       10,162  

Interest

     19,474       13,627       58,424       40,653  

Corporate

     3,036       3,548       10,679       11,291  
                                

Total expenses

     163,158       211,282       489,421       492,099  
                                

Income before income taxes

     297,149       226,978       925,753       739,860  

Provision for income taxes

     83,626       51,861       252,520       193,102  
                                

Net income

   $ 213,523     $ 175,117     $ 673,233     $ 546,758  
                                

Net income per share

   $ 2.00     $ 1.63     $ 6.32     $ 5.02  
                                

Net income per diluted share

   $ 1.98     $ 1.61     $ 6.26     $ 4.97  
                                

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:

        

Basic

     106,725,567       107,392,176       106,549,856       108,891,738  
                                

Diluted

     107,737,122       108,484,035       107,473,723       110,121,701  
                                

See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

 

4


Table of Contents

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

(Unaudited)

For The Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

     2006     2005  

Retained Earnings:

        

Balance at January 1

   $ 4,692,701       $ 4,032,089    

Net income

     673,233     $ 673,233       546,758     $ 546,758  
                    

Dividends declared - common stock

     (50,807 )       (43,004 )  

Dividends on restricted stock units

     (633 )       —      

Exercise of stock options

     (49,051 )       (15,368 )  
                    

Balance at September 30

   $ 5,265,443       $ 4,520,475    
                    

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income:

        

Balance at January 1

   $ 202,312       $ 296,814    

Unrealized losses on securities, ($15,577) and ($73,973), pre-tax in 2006 and 2005, respectively(1)

       (8,369 )       (55,185 )

Gain (loss) on derivative hedges, $1,294 and ($1,960) pre-tax in 2006 and 2005, respectively

       723         353  

Foreign currency translation gain (loss)

       5,086         (6,480 )
                    

Other comprehensive loss

     (2,560 )     (2,560 )     (61,312 )     (61,312 )
                                

Comprehensive income

     $ 670,673       $ 485,446  
                    

Balance at September 30

   $ 199,752       $ 235,502    
                    

Preferred Stock:

        

Balance at January 1 and September 30

   $ —         $ —      
                    

Common Stock:

        

Balance at January 1

   $ 1,092       $ 1,089    

Issuance of stock

     —           2    
                    

Balance at September 30

   $ 1,092       $ 1,091    
                    

Additional Paid-in Capital:

        

Balance at January 1

   $ 723,680       $ 694,465    

Stock-based compensation

     17,011         20,644    

Excess tax benefit related to share-based compensation

     15,058         1,761    

Issuance of stock

     —           —      
                    

Balance at September 30

   $ 755,749       $ 716,870    
                    

Common Stock Held in Treasury at Cost:

        

Balance at January 1

   $ (247,578 )     $ —      

Cost of shares acquired

     (67,242 )       (306,750 )  

Shares issued under equity plans

     98,101         26,807    
                    

Balance at September 30

   $ (216,719 )     $ (279,943 )  
                    

Total Stockholders’ Equity at September 30

   $ 6,005,317       $ 5,193,995    
                    

___________

        

(1)      Disclosure of reclassification amount:

        

Unrealized holding losses arising during period

   $ (7,029 )     $ (54,252 )  

Less: reclassification adjustment for net gains included in net income

     1,340         933    
                    

Net unrealized losses on securities

   $ (8,369 )     $ (55,185 )  
                    

See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

 

5


Table of Contents

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

For The Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2006     2005  

Cash flows from operating activities:

    

Net income

   $ 673,233     $ 546,758  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     2,127       3,219  

Amortization of bond premium and discount

     2,644       (2,896 )

Share-based compensation

     18,937       15,538  

Current income taxes

     12,555       (4,982 )

Deferred income taxes

     7,927       63,449  

Deferred acquisition costs

     (15,254 )     (16,968 )

Unearned premiums, net

     67,742       107,232  

Loss and loss expenses

     (26,087 )     50,372  

Ceded reinsurance balances payable

     (6,782 )     824  

Investment income due and accrued

     (4,163 )     6,791  

Accrued interest payable

     52       8,523  

Change in trading account assets

     (85,000 )     —    

Net realized investment gains

     (57,500 )     (10,812 )

Other, net

     38,406       (58,932 )
                

Net cash provided by operating activities

     628,837       708,116  
                

Cash flows from investing activities:

    

Proceeds from sales of bonds

     791,749       1,679,624  

Proceeds from matured bonds

     1,502,144       1,141,053  

Purchases of bonds

     (4,036,857 )     (4,057,532 )

Change in short-term investments

     194,271       346,129  

Securities purchased under agreements to resell

     219,000       321,000  

Loans, net

     196,250       67,051  

Recoveries from impaired investments

     50,782       —    

Other, net

     (1,207 )     (36,874 )
                

Net cash used in investing activities

     (1,083,868 )     (539,549 )
                

Cash flows from financing activities:

    

Dividends paid

     (50,807 )     (43,004 )

Securities sold under agreements to repurchase

     57,000       —    

Proceeds from issuance of investment and payment agreements

     1,625,534       1,346,197  

Payments for investment and payment agreement draws

     (1,083,219 )     (1,174,262 )

Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt

     100,000       100,000  

Payments for redemption of long-term debt

     (173,204 )     (105,528 )

Capital issuance costs

     (2,636 )     (4,028 )

Net cash collateral received

     (695 )     1,764  

Issuance of common stock

     —         11,448  

Purchases of treasury stock

     (67,242 )     (306,750 )

Proceeds from sale of treasury stock

     49,129       14,107  

Excess tax benefit related to share-based compensation

     15,058       —    
                

Net cash provided by financing activities

     468,918       (160,056 )
                

Net cash flow

     13,887       8,511  

Cash at January 1

     28,295       19,957  
                

Cash at September 30

   $ 42,182     $ 28,468  
                

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:

    

Cash paid during the period for:

    

Income taxes

   $ 195,971     $ 125,047  
                

Interest on long-term debt

   $ 86,049     $ 71,901  
                

Interest on investment agreements

   $ 259,016     $ 177,253  
                

See accompanying Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

 

6


Table of Contents

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

(1) Background and Basis of Presentation

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. is a holding company whose subsidiaries provide financial guarantees and financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. Ambac’s principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corporation, a leading guarantor of public finance and structured finance obligations, has earned triple-A ratings, the highest ratings available from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, Fitch Inc., and Ratings and Investment Information, Inc. These ratings are an essential part of Ambac Assurance’s ability to provide credit enhancement and any reduction in these ratings could have a material adverse affect on Ambac Assurance’s ability to compete in the financial guarantee business. Ambac Assurance provides financial guarantees for bond issues and other forms of debt financing. Financial guarantee insurance is a promise to pay scheduled interest and principal if the issuer fails to meet its obligations. A bond guaranteed by Ambac Assurance receives triple-A ratings, typically resulting in lower financing costs for the issuer and the guarantee generally makes the issue more marketable, both in the primary and secondary markets.

Ambac’s consolidated unaudited interim financial statements have been prepared on the basis of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of Ambac’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 may not be indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2006. These consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in (i) Ambac’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2006, (ii) Ambac’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2006, which was filed with the SEC on May 10, 2006, and (iii) Ambac’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2006, which was filed with the SEC on August 9, 2006.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Ambac and all other entities in which Ambac has a controlling financial interest. The usual condition for a controlling financial interest is ownership of a majority of the voting interests of an entity. However, a controlling financial interest may also exist in entities, such as special purpose entities (“SPEs”), through arrangements that do not involve controlling voting interests. All significant intercompany balances have been eliminated.

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period’s amounts to conform to the current period’s presentation.

(2) Net Premiums Earned

Gross premiums are received either upfront (typical of public finance obligations), or in installments (typical of structured finance obligations). Up-front insurance premiums written are received for an entire bond issue, which may contain several maturities; and are recorded as unearned premiums. Premium earnings under both the upfront and installment revenue recognition methods are in proportion to the principal amount guaranteed and result in higher premium earnings during periods where guaranteed principal is higher. When an issue insured by Ambac Assurance has been refunded or called, the remaining unrecognized premium (net of refunding credits, if any) is recognized at that time.

 

7


Table of Contents

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

Premiums ceded to reinsurers reduce the amount of net premiums earned by Ambac from its financial guarantee insurance policies. For both up-front and installment premiums, ceded premiums written are primarily recognized in earnings in proportion to and at the same time the related gross premium revenue is recognized. Prepaid reinsurance represents the portion of premiums ceded to reinsurers relating to unearned premiums ceded under reinsurance contracts. As discussed in the last paragraph of footnote 3, the accounting for premiums earned is subject to change.

(3) Loss and Loss Expenses

Ambac’s financial guarantee insurance is a promise to pay scheduled interest and principal if the issuer of the insured obligation fails to meet its obligation. The loss reserve policy for financial guarantee insurance discussed in this footnote relates only to Ambac’s non-derivative insurance business. The policy for derivative contracts is discussed in Note 4 “Derivative Contracts”. Losses and loss expenses are based upon estimates of the ultimate aggregate losses inherent in the non-derivative financial guarantee portfolio as of the reporting date. The evaluation process for determining the level of reserves is subject to certain estimates and judgments. In most instances, claim payments are forecasted in advance of issuer default as a result of active surveillance of the insured book of business and observation of deterioration in the obligor’s credit standing. Based upon Ambac’s experience, claim payments become probable and estimable once the issuer’s credit profile has migrated to certain impaired credit levels. The trustee, on behalf of the insured party, named beneficiary, or custodian has the right to make a claim under Ambac’s financial guarantee insurance policy at the first scheduled debt service date of the defaulted obligation. As discussed in the last paragraph of this note, the accounting for credit loss reserves is subject to change.

The liability for losses and loss expenses consists of active credit and case basis credit reserves. Active credit reserves are for probable and estimable losses due to credit deterioration on insured credits that have not yet defaulted or been reported and are reflected on an undiscounted basis as of the reporting date. The establishment of reserves for exposures that have not yet defaulted is a common practice in the financial guarantee industry. However, Ambac is aware that there are differences in the specific methodologies applied by other financial guarantors in establishing such reserves. Ambac’s active credit reserve is based on management’s on-going review of the non-derivative financial guarantee credit portfolio. Active surveillance of the insured portfolio enables Ambac’s Surveillance Group to track credit migration of insured obligations from period to period and prepare an adversely classified credit listing. The active credit reserve is established only for adversely classified credits. The criteria for an exposure to be included on the adversely classified credit listing includes the deterioration in an issuer’s financial condition, underperformance of the underlying collateral (for collateral dependent transactions such as mortgage-backed securitizations), problems with the servicer of the underlying collateral and other adverse economic events or trends. The servicer of the underlying collateral of an insured securitization transaction is a consideration in assessing credit quality because the servicer’s performance can directly impact the performance of the related issue. For example, a servicer of a mortgage-backed securitization that does not remain current in its collection efforts could cause an increase in the delinquency and potential default of the underlying obligation.

The active credit reserve is established through a process that begins with estimates of probable losses inherent in the adversely classified credit portfolio. Estimates are computed for each adversely classified credit. These estimates are based upon: (i) Ambac’s internal system of credit ratings, which are analogous to the risk ratings of the major rating agencies;

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

(ii) internally developed historical default information (taking into consideration ratings and average life of an obligation); (iii) internally developed loss severities; and (iv) the net par outstanding on the adversely classified credit. The loss severities and default information are based on rating agency information and are specific to each bond type and are established and approved by Ambac’s Portfolio Risk Management Committee. The Portfolio Risk Management Committee is comprised of senior risk management professionals and other senior management of Ambac. For certain credit exposures that have deteriorated significantly, Ambac will undertake additional monitoring and loss remediation efforts. Additional remediation can include various actions by Ambac. The most common actions include obtaining detailed appraisal information on collateral, more frequent meetings with the issuer’s or servicer’s management to review operations, financial condition and financial forecasts and more frequent analysis of the issuer’s financial statements. For these credits, Ambac would use relevant information obtained from its remediation efforts to adjust the estimate discussed above. Senior management meets at least quarterly with the Surveillance Group to review the status of their work to determine the adequacy of Ambac’s loss reserves and make any necessary adjustments. Active credit reserves were $147,624 and $197,607 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. The active credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 were comprised of 71 and 88 credits with net par outstanding of $5,416,735 and $6,319,724, respectively. Included in the calculation of active credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 was the consideration of $9,722 and $17,479, respectively, of reinsurance which would be due to Ambac from reinsurers, upon default of the insured obligation.

Case basis credit reserves are for losses on insured obligations that have defaulted. We believe our definition of case basis credit reserves differs from other financial guarantee industry participants. Upon the occurrence of a payment default, the related active credit reserve is transferred to case basis credit reserve. Additional provision for losses upon further credit deterioration of a case basis exposure are initially recorded through the active credit reserve and subsequently transferred to case basis credit reserves. Our case reserves represent the present value of anticipated loss and loss expense payments expected over the estimated period of default. Loss and loss expenses consider anticipated defaulted debt service payments, estimated expenses associated with settling the claims and estimated recoveries under collateral and subrogation rights. The estimate does not consider future installment premium receipts, as the likelihood of such receipts is remote. Ambac discounts these estimated net payments using discount rates that approximate the average taxable equivalent yield on our investment portfolio.

Case basis credit reserves were $131,990 and $106,532 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. The discount rate applied to case basis credit reserves was 4.75% at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005. The case basis credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 were comprised of 8 and 10 credits, respectively, with net par outstanding of $766,319 and $838,975, respectively. Additionally, we have reinsurance recoverables on case basis credit reserves of $5,264 and $3,468 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

Ambac provides information on the classification of its loss reserve between active credit reserve and case basis credit reserve for the purpose of disclosing the components of the total reserve that relate to exposures that have not yet defaulted and those that have defaulted. The total reserve (active credit and case basis) was $279,614 and $304,139 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. Due to the relatively small number and large size of certain insured obligations comprising the active and case basis credit reserves, improvements or further deterioration in any one credit may significantly impact our loss provision in a given period. The provision for losses and loss expenses in the accompanying Consolidated

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

Statements of Operations represents the expense recorded to bring the total reserve to a level determined by management to be adequate for losses inherent in the non-derivative financial guarantee insurance portfolio.

Our liabilities for credit losses are based in part on the short-duration accounting guidance in SFAS No. 60, “Accounting and Reporting by Insurance Enterprises.” The trustee (on behalf of the insured party), named beneficiary or custodian has a right to a claim payment under the financial guarantee insurance policy at the date of the first scheduled debt service payment of a defaulted security in the amount equal to the payment shortfall. We believe a loss event occurs for financial guarantee insurance products at the time the issuers’ financial condition deteriorates to an impaired credit status rather than at the time the insured party has a right to a claim payment. Because of this belief and the ambiguities discussed below in the application of SFAS No. 60 to the financial guarantee industry, Ambac does not believe that SFAS No. 60 alone provides sufficient guidance. As a result, Ambac supplements the guidance in SFAS No. 60 with the guidance in SFAS No. 5, “Accounting for Contingencies,” which calls for a loss to be accrued if it is probable that a liability has been incurred at the date of the financial statements and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Ambac also relies by analogy on EITF Issue No. 85-20, “Recognition of Fees for Guaranteeing a Loan,” which states that a guarantor should perform an ongoing assessment of the probability of loss to determine if a liability (and a loss) should be recognized under SFAS No. 5.

In management’s view, the accounting guidance noted above does not comprehensively address the attributes of financial guarantee insurance contracts, primarily due to the fact that SFAS No. 60 was developed prior to the maturity of the financial guarantee industry. Financial guarantee contracts have elements of long-duration insurance contracts in that they are generally irrevocable and extend over a period of time that may be 30 years or more but are considered and reported for regulatory purposes as property and casualty insurance, normally considered short-duration contracts. The short-duration and long-duration classifications have different methods of accounting for premium revenue, deferred acquisition costs and contract liability recognition.

Ambac is aware that there are certain differences regarding the measurement of liabilities for credit losses among participants in the financial guarantee industry. Difficulties applying the existing insurance accounting literature such as the classification of the insurance contracts as either short-duration or long-duration to the attributes of financial guarantee insurance, different measurement models and assumptions utilized, regulatory guidance provided to certain entities, and the existence of accounting literature providing guidance with respect to liability recognition for loan guarantees are the reasons for differences among the industry participants.

In January and February of 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) staff discussed with the financial guarantee industry participants differences in loss reserve recognition practices among those participants. In June 2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) added a project to its agenda to consider the accounting by financial guarantee insurers for claims liability recognition, premium recognition and deferred acquisition costs. The proposed and final guidance are expected to be issued in 2007. When the FASB reaches a final resolution on this issue, Ambac and the rest of the financial guarantee industry may be required to change some aspects of their loss reserving policies and premium and expense recognition. Until a final standard is released, Ambac cannot predict how the FASB will resolve this issue and the resulting impact on our financial statements. Until the issue is resolved, Ambac intends to continue to apply its existing policy with respect to the establishment of both case and active credit reserves.

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

(4) Derivative Contracts

SFAS 133 “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, as amended by SFAS 138 and SFAS 149”, establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments. All derivatives, whether designed for hedging relationships or not, are required to be recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value. When available, quotes are obtained from independent market sources. However, when quotes are not available, Ambac uses internally developed valuation models. These valuation models require market-driven inputs, including contractual terms, credit spreads on underlying referenced obligations, yield curves and tax-exempt interest ratios. The valuation results from these models could differ materially from amounts that would actually be realized in the market. In accordance with the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) Issue No. 02-3, “Issues Involved in Accounting for Derivative Contracts Held for Trading Purposes and Contracts Involved in Energy Trading and Risk Management Activities” (EITF 02-3), recognition of a trading profit at inception of a derivative transaction is prohibited unless fair value of that derivative is obtained from a quoted market price, supported by comparison to other observable market transactions, or based upon a valuation technique incorporating observable market data. Ambac defers trade date gains or losses on derivative transactions where the fair value is not determined based upon observable market transactions and market data. The deferral is recognized in income when the market data becomes observable or over the life of the transaction. The fair value includes an adjustment for counterparty credit risk and other adjustments, as appropriate, to reflect liquidity and ongoing servicing costs.

All derivative contracts are recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets on a gross basis; assets and liabilities are netted by customer only when a legal right of set-off exists. Gross asset and gross liability balances for all derivatives are recorded as Derivative Assets or Derivative Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Derivative Contracts Classified as Held for Trading Purposes:

Financial Guarantee Credit Derivatives:

Ambac Assurance Corporation, through its subsidiary Ambac Credit Products, enters into structured credit derivative transactions with various financial institutions. Management views these structured credit derivative transactions as an extension of its financial guarantee business, under which Ambac intends to hold its position for the entire term of the related contract. These structured credit derivative contracts are accounted for at fair value since they do not qualify for the financial guarantee scope exception under SFAS 133, as amended. Changes in fair value are recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The fee component is reflected in “Other Credit Enhancement Fees”, and the mark-to-market gains or losses associated with fair value changes are reflected in “Net Mark-to-Market Gains on Credit Derivative Contracts”.

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

Financial Services – Derivative Products:

Ambac, through its subsidiary Ambac Financial Services, provides interest rate and currency swaps to states, municipalities and their authorities, asset-backed issuers and other entities in connection with their financings. Ambac Capital Services enters into total return swaps with professional counterparties. Total return swaps are primarily referenced to fixed income obligations, which meet Ambac Assurance’s financial guarantee credit underwriting criteria. These contracts are recorded on trade date at fair value. Changes in fair value are recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The entire change in fair value of interest rate and currency swaps and the fee component of total returns swaps are reflected in “Derivative Product Revenues” and the mark-to-market gains or losses associated with the fair value changes on total return swaps are reflected in “Net Mark-to-Market Gains on Total Return Swap Contracts”.

Derivative Contracts used for Non-Trading and Hedging Purposes:

In order to qualify for hedge accounting, a derivative must be considered highly effective at reducing the risk associated with the exposure being hedged. Each derivative must be designated as a hedge, with documentation of the risk management objective and strategy, including identification of the hedging instrument, the hedged item, the risk exposure, and how effectiveness will be assessed prospectively and retrospectively. The extent to which a hedging instrument is effective at achieving offsetting changes in fair values or cash flows must be assessed at least quarterly. Any ineffectiveness must be reported in net income.

Interest rate and currency swaps are utilized to hedge exposure to changes in fair value of assets or liabilities resulting from changes in interest rates and foreign exchange rates, respectively. These interest rate and currency swap hedges are referred to as “fair value” hedges. Gains and losses on derivative hedges are recognized currently in net income. If the provisions of the derivative contract meet the technical requirements for hedge accounting under SFAS 133, the change in fair value (gain or loss) on the hedged asset or liability attributable to the hedged risk (interest rate or foreign exchange risk) adjusts the carrying amount of the hedged item and is recognized currently in net income. The net amount representing hedge ineffectiveness, recorded as a component of “Net mark-to-market (losses) gains on non-trading derivative contracts” in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations, was ($1,281) and $30 for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively and ($1,113) and ($643) for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

Interest rate swaps are also utilized to hedge the exposure to changes in cash flows caused by variable interest rates. These interest rate swap hedges are referred to as “cash flow” hedges. Gains and losses on interest rate swaps that meet the technical requirements for cash flow hedge accounting under SFAS 133 are reported in “Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income” in Stockholders’ Equity, until earnings are affected by the variability in cash flows of the designated hedged item. Hedge ineffectiveness reported in net income for cash flow hedges was ($27) and $0 for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively, and $345 and $0 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

Ambac enters into non-trading derivative contracts for the purpose of economically hedging exposures to fair value or cash flow changes caused by fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency rates. If the hedging relationship does not meet the technical requirements for hedge accounting under SFAS 133, changes to the fair value of the derivative contract are

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

recorded as a component of “Net mark-to-market (losses) gains on non-trading derivative contracts” in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. The change in fair value of such derivative contracts for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 was $106 and ($87), respectively, and ($124) and $49,512 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The mark-to-market gains in 2005 were related to highly effective economic hedges that did not meet the technical requirements for hedge accounting under SFAS 133. These derivatives have met the technical requirements of SFAS 133 as of July 1, 2005.

Ambac discontinues hedge accounting prospectively when it is determined that the derivative is no longer effective in offsetting changes in the fair value or cash flows of the hedged item, the derivative expires, is sold or terminated. When hedge accounting is discontinued because it is determined that the derivative no longer qualifies as an effective fair value hedge, Ambac continues to carry the derivative on the balance sheet at its fair value, and no longer adjusts the hedged asset or liability for changes in fair value. The adjustment of the carrying amount of the hedged asset or liability is accounted for in the same manner as other components of the carrying amount of that asset or liability. The net derivative gain or loss related to a discontinued cash flow hedge (recognized during the period of hedge effectiveness) will continue to be reported in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income and amortized into net income as a yield adjustment to the previously designated asset or liability. If the previously designated asset or liability is sold or matures, the net derivative gain or loss related to a discontinued cash flow hedge reported in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income will be reclassified into net income immediately. All subsequent changes in fair values of derivatives previously designated as cash flow hedges will be recognized in net income.

(5) Special Purpose and Variable Interest Entities

Ambac has involvement with special purpose entities, including variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in the following ways. First, Ambac is a provider of financial guarantee insurance for various debt obligations. Second, Ambac has sponsored two special purpose entities that issue medium-term notes (“MTNs”) to fund the purchase of certain financial assets. As discussed in detail below, these Ambac-sponsored special purpose entities are considered Qualifying Special Purpose Entities (“QSPEs”). Lastly, Ambac is an investor in asset-backed securities issued by VIEs, and, in one transaction, has a beneficial interest in a VIE that purchases fixed rate municipal bonds with proceeds from the issuance of floating rate short term beneficial interests as discussed in detail below.

Financial Guarantees:

Ambac provides financial guarantees in respect of debt obligations of special purpose entities, including VIEs. Ambac’s primary variable interest exists through this financial guarantee insurance or credit derivative contract. The transaction structure provides certain financial protection to Ambac. This financial protection can take several forms; however, the most common are over-collateralization, first loss and excess spread. In the case of over-collateralization, (i.e., the principal amount of the securitized assets exceeds the principal amount of the structured finance obligations guaranteed by Ambac Assurance), the structure allows the transaction to experience defaults among the securitized assets before a default is experienced on the structured finance obligations that have been guaranteed by Ambac. In the case of first loss, the financial guarantee insurance policy only covers a senior layer of losses on debt issued by special purpose entities, including VIEs. The first loss with respect to the assets is either retained by the seller or sold off in the form of equity or mezzanine debt to other

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

investors. In the case of excess spread, the financial assets contributed to special purpose entities, including VIEs, generate interest cash flows that are in excess of the interest payments on the related debt; such excess cash flow is applied to redeem debt, thus creating over-collateralization.

As of September 30, 2006, Ambac is the primary beneficiary under three transactions as a result of providing financial guarantees to these entities. Ambac consolidated these entities since the structural financial protections are outside the VIEs. These structural protections, had they existed inside the VIEs, would have absorbed a majority of the VIEs’ expected losses and consequently Ambac would not have consolidated these entities. All consolidated VIEs are bankruptcy remote special purpose financing entities created by the issuer of debt securities to facilitate the sale of notes guaranteed by Ambac Assurance. Ambac is not primarily liable for the debt obligations of these entities. Ambac would only be required to make payments on these debt obligations in the event that the issuer defaults on any principal or interest due. Additionally, Ambac’s creditors do not have rights with regard to the assets of these VIEs.

Proceeds from the note issuance of the first VIE transaction, which closed in 2002, were used to purchase senior mortgage-backed floating rate notes of a South Korean mortgage-backed securities issuer. Protections afforded Ambac Assurance in this transaction were in the form of a reserve fund and the issuance of subordinated debt. Ambac Assurance will pay claims under its financial guarantee only in the event that losses on the mortgage assets of the South Korean issuer reduce the reserve fund to zero and exceed the principal amount of the subordinated notes. Total long-term debt outstanding under this note issuance was $37,380 and $64,522 with a final maturity date of December 3, 2022 and a variable rate of interest which was 5.77% and 4.26% at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

Proceeds from the note issuances of the other transactions, both of which closed in 2004, were used to purchase notes issued by special purpose reinsurance companies in connection with their reinsurance of defined blocks of life insurance contracts. Protections afforded Ambac Assurance were in the form of capital contributed to the reinsurance companies and the issuance of subordinated debt by the VIEs. Ambac Assurance will pay claims under its financial guarantees in these transactions if cash flows generated under the reinsurance agreements and the proceeds from the contributed capital and subordinated debt are insufficient to repay the noteholders. Total debt outstanding under these note issuances was $984,136 and $977,325 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, with maturity dates ranging from April 15, 2016 to February 6, 2025. At September 30, 2006 the interest rates on these notes ranged from 4.75% to 5.33%. Under one of these transactions, Ambac is subject to potential consolidation of an additional $200,000 of assets and liabilities in connection with future utilization of the VIE by the reinsurer.

The following table provides supplemental information about the combined assets and liabilities associated with the VIEs discussed above. The assets and liabilities of these VIEs are consolidated into the respective Balance Sheet captions.

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

 

     At September 30, 2006     At December 31, 2005

Assets:

    

Cash

   $ 1,557     $ 676

Loans

Investment in fixed income securities

    
 
555,541
464,381
 
 
   
 
659,379
390,423

Investment income due and accrued

     7,871       7,448

Derivative assets

     2,375       —  

Other assets

     6,655       —  
              

Total assets

   $ 1,038,380     $ 1,057,926
              

Liabilities:

    

Long-term debt

     1,021,516     $ 1,041,848

Derivative liabilities

     —         6,332

Deferred taxes

     (77 )     315

Accrued interest payable

     8,801       8,303

Other liabilities

     8,282       543
              

Total liabilities

     1,038,522       1,057,341
              

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     (142 )     585
              

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 1,038,380     $ 1,057,926
              

Qualified Special Purpose Entities:

Ambac has transferred financial assets to two special purpose entities. The business purpose of these entities is to provide certain financial guarantee clients with funding for their debt obligations. These entities meet the characteristics of QSPEs in accordance with SFAS 140. QSPEs are not subject to the requirements of FIN 46-R and accordingly are not consolidated in Ambac’s financial statements. The QSPEs are legal entities that are demonstrably distinct from Ambac. Ambac, its affiliates or its agents cannot unilaterally dissolve the QSPEs. The QSPEs permitted activities are limited to those outlined below.

As of September 30, 2006, there have been 14 individual transactions processed through the QSPEs of which 9 are outstanding. In each case, Ambac sold fixed income debt obligations to the QSPEs. These transactions are true sales based upon the bankruptcy remote nature of the QSPE and the absence of any agreement or obligation for Ambac to repurchase or redeem assets of the QSPE. Additionally, Ambac’s creditors do not have any rights with regards to the assets of the QSPEs. The purchase by the QSPE is financed through the issuance of MTNs, which are collateralized by the purchased assets. Derivative contracts (interest rate and currency swaps) may be used for hedging purposes only. Derivative hedges are established at the time MTNs are issued to purchase financial assets. The activities of the QSPEs are contractually limited to purchasing assets from Ambac, issuing MTNs to fund such purchase, executing derivative hedges and related administrative services. Ambac Assurance may issue a financial guarantee insurance policy on the assets sold, the MTNs issued or both. As of September 30, 2006, Ambac Assurance had financial guarantee insurance policies issued for all assets, MTNs and derivative contracts owned and outstanding by the QSPEs.

Pursuant to the terms of Ambac Assurance’s insurance policy, insurance premiums are paid to Ambac Assurance by the QSPEs and are earned in a manner consistent with other insurance policies, over the risk period. Any losses incurred would be included in Ambac’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Under the terms of an Administrative Agency Agreement, Ambac provides certain administrative duties, primarily collecting amounts due on the obligations and making interest payments on the MTNs.

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

There were no assets sold to the QSPEs during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and the year ended December 31, 2005. As of September 30, 2006, the estimated fair value of financial assets, MTN liabilities and derivative hedge liabilities of the QSPEs was $1,572,969, $1,606,733 and $3,269, respectively. When market quotes are not available, fair values are based on internal valuation models, which utilize current market information. The valuation results from these models could differ materially from amounts that would actually be realized in the market. Ambac Assurance received gross premiums for issuing financial guarantee policies on the assets, MTNs and derivative contracts of $3,774 and $4,317 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Ambac also received fees for providing other services amounting to $200 and $241 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

VIE Beneficial Interest:

Ambac owns a beneficial interest in a special purpose entity that meets the definition of a VIE. This entity has issued floating rate beneficial interests to investors and invested the proceeds in fixed rate municipal debt securities. These beneficial interests are directly secured by the related municipal debt securities. Ambac is the primary beneficiary of this entity as a result of its beneficial interest. The fixed rate municipal debt securities, which are reported as Investments in fixed income securities, at fair value on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, were $259,023 and $258,806 as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. The beneficial interests issued to third parties, reported as Obligations under investment and payment agreements on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, were $248,560 and $248,760 as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. As of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, the interest rates on these beneficial interests ranged from 2.96% to 4.00% and from 1.49% to 3.55%, respectively.

(6) Employee Benefit Plans

Stock-based Compensation:

The Ambac 1997 Equity Plan (the “Equity Plan”) provides for the granting of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance units and other awards that are valued or determined by reference to the Common Stock. Ambac generally expects to deliver shares to employees under this plan from its treasury stock. Ambac also maintains the Ambac 1997 Non-employee Directors Equity Plan, which provides awards of restricted stock units to non-employee members of Ambac’s Board of Directors. As of September 30, 2006, approximately 7,800,000 shares were available for future grant under the Equity Plan and the Directors Equity Plan. The number of restricted stock units awarded to each non-employee director under the Directors Equity Plan are determined by formula.

Since January 1, 2003, Ambac accounted for stock-based employee compensation in accordance with the fair-value method prescribed by SFAS No. 123 as amended by SFAS Statement 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation – Transition and Disclosure,” (“SFAS 148”), prospectively to all employee awards granted after January 1, 2003.

Effective January 1, 2006, Ambac adopted SFAS No. 123-R, “Share-Based Payment”, (“SFAS No. 123-R”) by using the modified prospective approach to all employee awards granted after the effective date. Beginning with the effective date, SFAS 123-R requires entities to recognize compensation cost for all equity-classified awards after the effective date and for all

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

awards granted to employees prior to the effective date of SFAS No. 123-R that remain unvested on the effective date using the fair-value measurement method and estimating forfeitures for all unvested awards. Key differences between SFAS No. 123-R and SFAS No. 123 are:

 

    SFAS No. 123-R provided clarification that the Black-Scholes-Merton model is not appropriate for stock options containing a market condition that affects vesting and the ability to exercise. Stock options granted prior to the adoption of SFAS 123-R were valued using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. Stock options granted in 2006 will vest on the earlier of Ambac’s Common Stock achieving certain price targets (market conditions) or meeting the requisite service requirement, therefore, the fair value of each market condition award was estimated on the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model.

 

    SFAS 123-R requires compensation expense be recognized for partially vested awards outstanding at its effective date. The expense related to the unvested award will be recognized for the remainder of the requisite service period. Certain market condition stock option grants previously accounted for under APB No. 25 were partially vested as of January 1, 2006. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 approximately $205 and $616, respectively, of compensation expense is recorded for these partially vested awards.

 

    SFAS No.123-R requires the grant date expensing of share-based awards granted to retirement-eligible employees. This is consistent with how Ambac recognized such awards under SFAS 123. Based on interpretative guidance under SFAS No. 123-R, Ambac must elect to continue to expense awards to retirement eligible employees on the grant date or accrue in the year prior to the grant date. Ambac elected to accrue the estimated cost of the 2007 stock-compensation grants to retirement-eligible employees over the service period. Therefore, Ambac will accrue the estimated cost of such awards over the course of the fiscal year preceding the grant date ($1,787 and $5,361 recognized in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006).

For the three months ended September 30, 2006, basic and diluted earnings per share would have increased by $0.01 and $0.02 per share, respectively, if Ambac had not adopted SFAS No. 123-R and $0.01 and $0.02 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively.

Stock Options:

Stock options awarded to eligible employees are exercisable and expire as specified at the time of grant. Such options are awarded based on the average of the high and low of the fair market value of the Common Stock as traded on the New York Stock Exchange on the grant date and have a term of seven years from the date of the grant. All employee stock option agreements provide that vesting is accelerated in certain circumstances, such as upon retirement or death.

As discussed above, with the adoption of SFAS 123-R, Ambac used a Monte Carlo simulation model. The model utilizes multiple input variables that determine the probability of satisfying each market condition stipulated in the option grant and calculates the fair market value for each option granted based on certain assumptions. The assumptions for the 2006 stock option grants are as follows:

 

Expected volatility

   25.34%

Suboptimal factor

   175%

Dividend Yield

   0.8%

Risk-free interest rates

   4.27%-4.41%

Expected term

   5.23 years

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

The expected volatility is based on the average of implied volatility in Ambac’s traded options and historical volatility levels on Ambac’s common stock over the contractual term of the option. Suboptimal factor represents the option holder’s expected exercise behavior, that is, the percentage multiplied by the option grant’s strike price results in the market price at which Ambac expects the holder to exercise their option. The determination of the suboptimal factor is based on the exercise history of Ambac’s previous grants considering management’s future expectation of exercise behavior. The expected dividend yield is based on historical dividend payments. The risk-free interest rates reflect the yields on U.S. Treasuries over the contractual term of the award. We have adjusted the contractual term of the option for the effect of retirement-eligible participants to arrive at the expected term assumption.

A summary of option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 is as follows:

 

     Shares     Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
   Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
   Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life

Outstanding at beginning of year

   4,338,886     $ 59.55      

Granted

   665,650     $ 74.45      

Exercised

   (945,917 )   $ 51.84      

Forfeited

   (64,250 )   $ 72.93      
              

Outstanding at end of quarter

   3,994,369     $ 63.64    $ 77,578,694    3.8
              

Exercisable

   1,900,480     $ 54.54    $ 54,202,833    2.5
              

The grant date fair value of stock options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 were $22.25 and $21.23, respectively. The fair value of the 2006 option award is attributed over the derived vesting periods based on the output of the valuation model and represents the median time required to satisfy the market conditions of the award. The intrinsic value for stock options exercised during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 was $28,819 and $12,404, respectively.

As of September 30, 2006, there were $14,743 of total unrecognized compensation costs related to unvested stock options granted. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 3.4 years. Gross stock option expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $2,847 and $11,921, respectively, compared to $1,906 and $9,228 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. The net income effect from stock options for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $892 and $3,697, respectively, compared to $762 and $3,294 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively.

Cash received from stock option exercises for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $49,064. The income tax benefits from share-based arrangements totaled $15,058 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006, with approximately $9,636 attributed to stock option exercises. Excess tax benefits are included in financing activities of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

RSUs:

RSUs are granted to all eligible employees based upon the performance of Ambac, the performance of the employee’s department and the performance of the employee. Officers at the level of Managing Director and above, can, in lieu of the first twenty-five percent of their cash bonus, receive RSUs. These RSUs are granted at a twenty-five percent discount to the average of the high and low of Ambac common stock on the date of grant. These employees can elect to defer more than twenty-five percent of their cash bonus in the form of RSUs, however, the aforementioned discount does not apply. RSUs do not have a vesting period in excess of four years. Prior to vesting, the RSUs cannot be sold or transferred by the participant and are subject to cancellation if the participant’s employment is terminated. All RSU agreements provide that vesting is accelerated in certain circumstances, such as retirement or death. As of September 30, 2006, 1,288,969 RSUs remained outstanding, of which (i) 564,862 units required future service as a condition to the delivery of the underlying shares of common stock and (ii) 724,107 units did not require future service.

Information with respect to the RSU awards is as follows for the nine months ended September 30, 2006:

 

     Shares     Weighted Average
Grant Date Fair Value

Outstanding at beginning of year

   1,535,309     $ 56.78

Granted

   256,712     $ 75.00

Delivered

   (464,404 )   $ 43.31

Forfeited

   (38,648 )   $ 74.81
        

Outstanding at end of quarter

   1,288,969     $ 64.61
        

As of September 30, 2006, there was $20,537 of total unrecognized compensation costs related to unvested RSUs granted. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.0 years. Gross RSU expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $4,992 and $18,001, respectively, compared to $3,722 and $16,148 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. The net income effect from RSUs for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $2,145 and $7,317, respectively, compared to $1,569 and $6,532 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively.

The fair value for RSUs vested during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 was $8,511 and $9,986, respectively.

Pensions:

Ambac has a defined benefit pension plan covering substantially all employees of Ambac. The benefits are based on years of service and the employee’s average highest salary during five consecutive years of employment within the last ten years of employment. On October 23, 2006, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved an amendment to the Pension Plan that will terminate the Plan effective December 31, 2006. Benefits under the Plan will cease to accrue as of December 31, 2006 and the Plan will be amended to provide participants a choice of a lump-sum payment or an annuity. The Compensation Committee intends to replace this benefit with an increased matching contribution to Ambac’s defined contribution plan.

Net periodic pension costs for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 include the following components:

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2006     2005     2006     2005  

Service cost

   $ 561     $ 520     $ 1,682     $ 1,559  

Interest cost

     426       388       1,278       1,164  

Expected return on plan assets

     (648 )     (598 )     (1,946 )     (1,795 )

Amortization of prior service cost

     (27 )     (37 )     (79 )     (109 )

Recognized net loss

     67       64       201       193  
                                

Total pension expense

   $ 379     $ 337     $ 1,136     $ 1,012  
                                

 

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Table of Contents

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

Postretirement and Other Benefits:

Ambac provides postretirement and postemployment benefits, including health and life benefits covering substantially all employees who meet certain age and service requirements. Effective August 1, 2005, new employees were not eligible for postretirement benefits. All plans are contributory. None of the plans are currently funded. Postretirement and post employment benefit expense was $300 and $900 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively, compared to $226 and $662 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively.

(7) Stockholders’ Equity

Ambac is authorized to issue 350,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of which 109,193,096 were issued and 106,192,941 were outstanding as of September 30, 2006. Ambac is also authorized to issue 4,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value per share, none of which was issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2006.

(8) Segment Information

Ambac has two reportable segments, as follows: (1) Financial Guarantee, which provides financial guarantees (including structured credit derivatives) for public finance, structured finance and other obligations; and (2) Financial Services, which provides investment agreements, funding conduits, interest rate, total return and currency swaps, principally to clients of the financial guarantee business, which includes municipalities and other public entities, health care organizations, investor-owned utilities and asset-backed issuers. Ambac’s reportable segments are strategic business units that offer different products and services. They are managed separately because each business requires different marketing strategies, personnel skill sets and technology.

Ambac Assurance guarantees the swap and investment agreement obligations of its Financial Services affiliates. Intersegment revenues include the premiums earned under those agreements and dividends received from its Financial Services subsidiaries. Such premiums are determined as if they were premiums paid by third parties, that is, at current market prices.

Information provided below for “Corporate and Other” relates to Ambac Financial Group, Inc. corporate activities, including interest expense on debentures. Corporate and other revenue from unaffiliated customers consists primarily of interest income. Intersegment revenues consist of dividends received.

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

The following table is a summary of financial information by reportable segment as of and for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005:

 

(Dollars in thousands)

Three months ended September 30,

   Financial
Guarantee
   Financial
Services
    Corporate
And Other
    Intersegment
Eliminations
    Consolidated

2006:

           

Revenues:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 341,359    $ 115,403     $ 3,545     $ —       $ 460,307

Intersegment

     13,697      (3,431 )     39,371       (49,637 )     —  
                                     

Total revenues

   $ 355,056    $ 111,972     $ 42,916     ($ 49,637 )   $ 460,307
                                     

Income before income taxes:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 300,956    $ 15,158     $ (18,965 )   $ —       $ 297,149

Intersegment

     16,360      (4,143 )     38,376       (50,593 )     —  
                                     

Total income before income taxes

   $ 317,316    $ 11,015     $ 19,411     $ (50,593 )   $ 297,149
                                     

Total assets

   $ 11,402,411    $ 9,271,167     $ 337,113     $ —       $ 21,010,691
                                     

2005:

           

Revenues:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 351,185    $ 86,560     $ 515     $ —       $ 438,260

Intersegment

     1,276      (1,420 )     89,600       (89,456 )     —  
                                     

Total revenues

   $ 352,461    $ 85,140     $ 90,115     $ (89,456 )   $ 438,260
                                     

Income before income taxes:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 222,592    $ 21,046     $ (16,660 )   $ —       $ 226,978

Intersegment

     2,999      (1,310 )     88,820       (90,509 )     —  
                                     

Total income before income taxes

   $ 225,591    $ 19,736     $ 72,160     $ (90,509 )   $ 226,978
                                     

Total assets

   $ 10,383,549    $ 8,636,764     $ 41,988     $ —       $ 19,062,301
                                     

(Dollars in thousands)

Nine months ended September 30,

   Financial
Guarantee
   Financial
Services
    Corporate
And Other
    Intersegment
Eliminations
    Consolidated

2006:

           

Revenues:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 1,046,839    $ 357,603     $ 10,732     $ —       $ 1,415,174

Intersegment

     26,925      (5,546 )     131,896       (153,275 )     —  
                                     

Total revenues

   $ 1,073,764    $ 352,057     $ 142,628     $ (153,275 )   $ 1,415,174
                                     

Income before income taxes:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 899,139    $ 84,985     $ (58,371 )   $ —       $ 925,753

Intersegment

     34,917      (8,031 )     128,911       (155,797 )     —  
                                     

Total income before income taxes

   $ 934,056    $ 76,954     $ 70,540     $ (155,797 )   $ 925,753
                                     

Total assets

   $ 11,402,411    $ 9,271,167     $ 337,113     $ —       $ 21,010,691
                                     

2005:

           

Revenues:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 973,064    $ 257,575     $ 1,320     $ —       $ 1,231,959

Intersegment

     1,723      (2,357 )     323,800       (323,166 )     —  
                                     

Total revenues

   $ 974,787    $ 255,218     $ 325,120     $ (323,166 )   $ 1,231,959
                                     

Income before income taxes:

           

Unaffiliated customers

   $ 713,852    $ 76,632     $ (50,624 )   $ —       $ 739,860

Intersegment

     6,892      (2,027 )     321,460       (326,325 )     —  
                                     

Total income before income taxes

   $ 720,744    $ 74,605     $ 270,836     $ (326,325 )   $ 739,860
                                     

Total assets

   $ 10,383,549    $ 8,636,764     $ 41,988     $ —       $ 19,062,301
                                     

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

The following table summarizes gross premiums written and net premiums earned and other credit enhancement fees included in the Financial Guarantee segment by location of risk for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005:

 

(Dollars in thousands)

   Three Months    Nine Months
   Gross
Premiums
Written
   Net Premiums
Earned and Other
Credit
Enhancement
Fees
   Gross
Premiums
Written
   Net Premiums
Earned and Other
Credit Enhancement
Fees

2006:

           

United States

   $ 149,866    $ 150,034    $ 534,068    $ 476,516

United Kingdom

     32,541      27,928      106,128      60,033

Japan

     6,565      5,854      20,606      18,237

Italy

     1,611      2,300      10,017      6,616

Australia

     711      2,316      9,734      7,915

Brazil

     2,070      1,801      6,846      5,913

Mexico

     1,111      1,003      3,454      3,109

Internationally diversified (1)

     8,189      12,012      26,821      39,606

Other international

     9,637      11,308      27,092      29,922
                           

Total

   $ 212,301    $ 214,556    $ 744,766    $ 647,867
                           

2005:

           

United States

   $ 189,869    $ 174,707    $ 624,372    $ 483,245

United Kingdom

     17,193      17,089      62,867      50,045

Japan

     7,135      7,278      21,025      22,414

Italy

     563      1,980      8,925      6,253

Australia

     3,593      2,218      12,696      6,521

Brazil

     4,263      3,347      10,089      8,068

Mexico

     1,101      580      8,841      3,965

Internationally diversified (1)

     8,124      15,520      23,555      43,967

Other international

     6,102      8,393      17,327      24,113
                           

Total

   $ 237,943    $ 231,112    $ 789,697    $ 648,591
                           

1) Internationally diversified includes guarantees with multiple locations of risk and includes components of United States exposure.

(9) Accounting Standards

On February 16, 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments”. SFAS 155 amends SFAS 133 and SFAS 140, and addresses issues raised in SFAS 133 Implementation Issue No. D1, “Application of Statement 133 to Beneficial Interests in Securitized Financial Assets.” The primary objectives of SFAS 155 are: (i) with respect to SFAS 133, to address the accounting for beneficial interests in securitized financial assets and (ii) with respect to SFAS 140, eliminate a restriction on the passive derivative instruments that a QSPE may hold. SFAS 155 is effective for all financial instruments acquired or issued after the beginning of an entity’s first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006. Earlier adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year, provided the entity has not yet issued financial statements, including financial statements for any interim period for that fiscal year. Ambac will adopt SFAS 155 on January 1, 2007 and is currently evaluating the implications of SFAS 155 on its financial statements.

On April 13, 2006, the FASB issued Staff Position (“FSP”) No. FIN 46(R)-6 “Determining the Variability to be Considered in Applying FASB Interpretation No. 46(R)”. This FSP

 

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Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

addresses the approach to determine the variability to consider when applying FIN 46 (R) and includes illustrative examples of how the variability should be considered. The variability that is considered may affect the determination as to whether the entity is a VIE, the determination of which interests are variable interests in the entity, if necessary, the calculation of expected losses and residual returns of the entity, and the determination of which party is the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The effective date for prospective application is the first day of the first reporting period beginning after June 15, 2006. Retrospective application, if elected, should be completed no later than the end of the annual reporting period after July 15, 2006, effectively December 31, 2006 for Ambac. Ambac has adopted this FSP on all new transactions entered into on July 1, 2006 and thereafter. Ambac is also currently evaluating whether to elect the retrospective application of this FSP.

In July 2006, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation (“FIN”) No. 48 “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes”, an interpretation of SFAS 109. FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an entity’s financial statements in accordance with SFAS 109 “Accounting for Income Taxes”. FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. This Interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. FIN 48 is applicable for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006, with early application encouraged if financial statements, including interim financial statements have not been issued in the period of adoption. Ambac is currently evaluating the implication of this Interpretation on its financial statements.

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 157, “Fair Value Measurements”. SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in GAAP, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. This statement applies under other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements. SFAS 157 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Earlier application is encouraged, provided that the reporting entity has not yet issued financial statements for that fiscal year, including financial statements for an interim period within that fiscal year. Ambac is currently evaluating the implications of SFAS 157 on its financial statements. In addition, SFAS 157 supersedes the guidance in EITF 02-3, which prohibited the recognition of day one gains on certain derivative transactions. With the adoption of SFAS 157, any remaining EITF 02-3 reserves will be reflected as a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings.

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 158, “Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans”. SFAS 158 requires employers to recognize the overfunded or underfunded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or liability in its statement of financial position and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year in which the changes occur through comprehensive income. Employers are required to initially recognize the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan and to provide the required disclosures as of the end of the fiscal year ending after December 15, 2006. SFAS 158 requires prospective application. Ambac is currently evaluating the implications of SFAS 158 on its financial statements, particularly considering the termination of the pension plan.

The FASB is currently working on a number of amendments to the existing accounting standards governing financial guarantees, asset transfers, securitization, and consolidation. Upon completion of these standards, Ambac will need to reevaluate its accounting and disclosures.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. is a holding company whose subsidiaries provide financial guarantees and financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. Our diluted earnings per share were $1.98 and $6.26 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, a 23% increase compared with the three months ended September 30, 2005, and a 26% increase compared with the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Both the 2005 and 2006 three and nine month financial results were impacted by Hurricane Katrina loss reserve activity. The 2005 results were negatively impacted by the establishment of $92 million of reserves related to the hurricane in the third quarter 2005. The 2006 results were positively impacted by the release of approximately $40 million of Katrina related reserves during the third quarter 2006. 2006 financial results were further positively impacted by (i) net improvements in the classified credit portfolio for credits unrelated to Hurricane Katrina; (ii) cash recoveries received during the period for a security within the financial services investment portfolio that had been written-off in 2002 and 2003; and (iii) the sale of aircraft related to a previously reported defaulted enhanced equipment trust certificate (reported as “Other income” in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations). Those increases were partially offset by net mark-to-market gains on non-trading derivatives reported in the second quarter 2005. Return on average shareholders’ equity was 14.7% and 15.8% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively.

Ambac’s principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corporation, a leading guarantor of public finance and structured finance obligations, has earned triple-A ratings, the highest ratings available from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, Fitch Inc., and Rating and Investment Information, Inc. Ambac Assurance provides financial guarantees for bond issues and other forms of debt financing. Financial guarantee insurance is a promise to pay scheduled interest and principal if the issuer fails to meet its obligations. A bond guaranteed by Ambac Assurance receives triple-A ratings, typically resulting in lower financing costs for the issuer and the guarantee generally makes the issue more marketable, both in the primary and secondary markets.

Ambac reports its financial guarantee business segment broken out by three principal markets: Public Finance, Structured Finance and International Finance. Public Finance includes all U.S. municipal issuance including general obligations, lease and tax-backed obligations, health care, public utilities, transportation and higher education, as well as certain infrastructure privatization transactions, such as toll road and bridge financings, public transportation financings, stadium financings, military housing and student housing. Structured Finance obligations include securitizations of a variety of asset types such as mortgage loans, home equity loans, student loans, credit card receivables, commercial asset-backed securities, leases, pooled debt obligations, investor-owned utilities and asset-backed commercial paper conduits originated in the U.S. Included within the commercial asset-backed sector are securitizations of operating assets, including aircraft, rental car fleets, shipping containers and rail cars, as well as film and publishing royalties. International Finance covers infrastructure transactions, investor-owned utilities, and structured finance transactions including pooled debt obligations involving assets primarily outside of the U.S.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Ambac’s Financial Services segment provides financial and investment products including investment agreements, interest rate swaps, currency swaps, and funding conduits, principally to clients of the financial guarantee business, which includes municipalities and other public entities, health care organizations, investor-owned utilities and asset-backed and structured finance issuers. Ambac Capital Services enters into total return swaps with professional counterparties. Ambac focuses on these businesses due to the complementary nature of the products to its financial guarantee product.

Cautionary Statement Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Materials in this Quarterly Report may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent management’s belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside our control. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and relate to future plans or objectives and results.

Any or all of management’s forward-looking statements here or in other publications may turn out to be wrong and are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. Ambac Financial Group’s actual results may vary materially, and there are no guarantees about the performance of Ambac Financial Group’s securities. Among factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are: (1) changes in the economic, credit, or interest rate environment in the United States and abroad; (2) the level of activity within the national and worldwide debt markets; (3) competitive conditions and pricing levels; (4) legislative and regulatory developments; (5) changes in tax laws; (6) the policies and actions of the United States and other governments; (7) changes in capital requirements or other criteria of rating agencies; (8) changes in accounting principles or practices that may impact Ambac Financial Group’s reported financial results; (9) the amount of reserves established for losses and loss expenses; (10) default of one or more of Ambac Assurance’s reinsurers; (11) market spreads and pricing on insured pooled debt obligations and other derivative products insured or issued by Ambac Financial Group; (12) prepayment speeds on insured asset-backed securities and other factors that may influence the amount of installment premiums paid to Ambac Assurance; and (13) other risks and uncertainties that have not been identified at this time. Ambac Financial Group is not obligated to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement if we later become aware that it is not likely to be achieved, except as required by law. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in Ambac Financial Group’s reports to the SEC.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Critical accounting estimates are defined as those that require management to make significant judgments and could potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. Management has identified the accounting for loss and loss expenses and the valuation of financial instruments as critical accounting estimates. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereon included elsewhere in this report, and in the 2005 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 13, 2006. Management has discussed each of these critical accounting estimates with the Audit and Risk Assessment Committee of the Board of Directors.

Financial Guarantee Insurance Losses and Loss Expenses. The loss reserve for financial guarantee insurance discussed in this critical accounting estimates disclosure relates only to Ambac’s non-derivative insurance business. Losses and loss expenses are based upon estimates of the ultimate aggregate losses inherent in the non-derivative Financial Guarantee portfolio as of the reporting date. The evaluation process for determining the level of reserves is subject to certain estimates and judgments.

The liability for losses and loss expenses consists of active credit and case basis credit reserves. Ambac establishes an active credit reserve to reflect probable and estimable losses due to credit deterioration on insured credits that have not yet defaulted or been reported as of the reporting date. The active credit reserve is established through a process that begins with estimates of probable losses inherent in the adversely classified credit portfolio. Estimates are computed on each adversely classified credit. These estimates are based upon: (i) Ambac’s internal system of credit ratings, which are analogous to the risk ratings of the major rating agencies; (ii) internally developed historical default information (taking into consideration ratings and average life of an obligation); (iii) internally developed loss severities; and (iv) the net par outstanding on the adversely classified credit. The loss severities and default information are based on rating agency information and are specific to each bond type and are established and approved by Ambac’s Portfolio Risk Management Committee. The Portfolio Risk Management Committee is comprised of senior risk management professionals and other senior management of Ambac. For certain credit exposures that have deteriorated significantly, Ambac will undertake additional monitoring and loss remediation efforts. Additional remediation can include various actions by Ambac. The most common actions include obtaining detailed appraisal information on collateral, more frequent meetings with the issuer’s or servicer’s management to review operations, financial condition and financial forecasts and more frequent analysis of the issuer’s financial statements. For these credits Ambac would use relevant information obtained from its remediation efforts to adjust the estimate discussed above.

Case basis credit reserves are established for losses on insured obligations that have already defaulted. We believe our definition of case basis credit reserves differs from other financial guarantee industry participants. Our case reserves represent the present value of anticipated loss and loss expense payments expected over the estimated period of default. Loss and loss expenses consider defaulted debt service payments, estimated expenses associated with settling the claims and estimated recoveries under collateral and subrogation rights.

The primary estimates impacting the statistical loss calculation are probability of default and severity of loss. The probability of default increases as a credit exposure deteriorates in quality. Political, economic or other unforeseen events could have an adverse impact on default probabilities. However, despite such unforeseen events, our experience has shown, it is not reasonably likely that there would be a change in the probability of default estimates such that a material change in our loss reserve estimate would occur because such unforeseen event are not reasonably likely to occur. Our experience has shown that credit deterioration and related changes in default probabilities are a gradual process that typically occurs over a long period of

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

time. Downgrades to the underlying ratings could have a significant impact on our loss reserves. Historically, claim payments on financial guarantee contracts have been infrequent but subject to potential high severity. Severity represents the amount of loss that would be incurred on a defaulted obligation due to the difference in the amount of net par guaranteed and the value of the related collateral and other subrogation rights. Loss severity estimates are based upon available information such as rating agency recovery rates or surveillance data such as collateral appraisals. However, severity data used are estimates that are subject to change with political, economic and other market conditions or as new information becomes available. Severity of loss is a primary assumption used to estimate losses and an increase or decrease of the severity would provide a range of reasonably possible future outcomes that would differ from our current loss estimate, which could be material.

Ambac has exposure to various bond types issued in the debt capital markets. Our experience has shown that for the majority of bond types, the estimate of loss severity has remained consistent in that material changes to severity estimates have not occurred. However, for certain bond types, factors or events could have a material impact on the estimate of loss severity. Based upon our historical experience, certain types of exposures are more likely to experience changes in loss severity estimates. We have observed that, with respect to four bond types in particular, is reasonably possible that a material change in actual loss severities and loss severity estimates can occur over time. These four bond types are health care institutions; aircraft lease securitizations known as Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (“EETC”), collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”) and mortgage-backed and home equity securitizations. Typically, bonds insured by Ambac in the healthcare sector are secured by revenues generated by a hospital enterprise. The value of a hospital enterprise and its ability to generate revenues are primarily impacted by the essentiality of that hospital enterprise to a particular community. For example, hospitals that do not have significant competition in a community generally have more stable collateral values than facilities in communities with significant competition. Intense competition in the global airline industry and high energy costs could adversely impact our EETC transactions. Increases in mortgage rates, unemployment and/or personal bankruptcies could adversely impact residential real estate values and the severity of loss for our transactions. As a result of our experience to date, we note that the mortgage-backed and home equity ultimate severities have been better than or equal to our current severity assumption. When calculating a modeled loss estimate for an insured CDO obligation, Ambac considers the unique attributes of the underlying collateral and transaction. It is reasonably possible that loss estimates for CDOs may increase as a result of increased severity of loss of the underlying collateral; however Ambac’s exposure to CDOs in its classified portfolio is currently limited.

The table below outlines the estimated impact on the September 30, 2006 consolidated loss reserve estimate (both active credit and case basis reserve) of reasonably possible increases in the loss severity assumptions. The table considers only those credits in the categories listed that are currently included in our classified portfolio. The assumptions used to calculate the increased reserve estimate provide for a downgrade in the internally determined underlying rating, by one full letter grade, for each credit analyzed.

 

(Dollars in millions)

Category

  

Current

Severity

Assumption

    Reasonably
Possible
Severity
Assumption
    Increase
in Reserve
Estimate

Health care

   76 %   83 %   $ 22

EETC

   20 %   25 %   $ 16

Mortgage-backed and home equity

   20 %   20 %   $ 15

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

At September 30, 2006, Ambac’s existing loss and loss expense liability for Hurricane Katrina amount to $50.5 million, down from the original estimate of $92 million established in the third quarter of 2005. Ambac’s exposure to losses as a result of the hurricane is derived primarily from its guarantees of municipal bonds in the greater New Orleans area and the Gulf-front regions that were most severely impacted by the storm. In determining our loss estimates, our analysis has considered the unprecedented nature of the disaster, including the displacement of the communities’ residents, and the unique aspects of each insured bond, such as the nature of the revenue source, the level of debt service reserves, if any, and other transaction protections. The severity of loss on these credits will be impacted by the timing and extent of residents’ return to the affected areas as well as further governmental support. In the third quarter of 2006, the state of Louisiana issued $400 million of Gulf Zone bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the state. Funds from that bond issuance went to certain issuers within Orleans Parish to assist in debt service payments on their outstanding bond obligations. This liquidity injection is a positive development for our insured credits that has been thoroughly considered in the estimation of reserves at September 30, 2006. Throughout the history of Ambac, there have not been any significant losses resulting from natural disasters. As a result, management has adjusted our assumptions to reflect the unprecedented nature of the disaster.

Ambac’s management believes that the reserves for losses and loss expenses are adequate to cover the ultimate net cost of claims, but the reserves are based on estimates and there can be no assurance that the ultimate liability for losses will not exceed such estimates.

Valuation of Financial Instruments. The fair market values of financial instruments held are determined by using independent market quotes when available and valuation models when market quotes are not available. Ambac’s financial instruments categorized as assets are mainly comprised of investments in fixed income securities and derivative contracts.

Investments in fixed income securities are accounted for in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) 115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities”. SFAS 115 requires that all debt instruments and certain equity instruments be classified in Ambac’s balance sheet according to their purpose and, depending on that classification, be carried at either cost or fair market value. Ambac classifies the vast majority of its investments in fixed income securities as available-for-sale, however investments in fixed income securities with a fair value of $85 million are classified as trading in “Other Investments” on the consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2006.

The fair values of fixed income investments are based primarily on quoted market prices received from a nationally recognized pricing service or dealer quotes. For those fixed income investments where broker quotes were not available, fair values are based on internal valuation models. Key inputs to the internal valuation models include maturity date, coupon and generic yield curves for industry and credit rating characteristics that closely match those characteristics of the specific investment securities being valued. The valuation results from these models could differ materially from amounts that would actually be realized in the market. Approximately 1% of the investment portfolio was valued using internal valuation models at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005.

Ambac’s exposure to derivative instruments is created through interest rate, currency, total return and credit default swaps. These contracts are accounted for at fair value under SFAS 133 “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Certain Hedging Activities,” as amended

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

(“SFAS 133”). Fair value is determined based upon market quotes from independent sources, when available. When independent quotes are not available, fair value is determined using valuation models. These valuation models require market-driven inputs, including contractual terms, credit spreads on underlying referenced obligations, yield curves and tax-exempt interest ratios. The net fair value of derivative contracts was $279 million and $167 million at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. Ambac uses both vendor-developed and proprietary models, based on the complexity of transactions. The selection of a model to value a derivative depends on the contractual terms of, and specific risks inherent in, the instrument as well as the availability of pricing information in the market. For derivatives that trade in liquid markets, such as interest rate and currency swaps, we utilize vendor-developed models. For derivatives that trade in less liquid markets, such as credit derivatives on synthetic collateralized debt obligations and total return swaps, a proprietary model is used because such instruments tend to be more complex and pricing information is not readily available in the market. These models and the related assumptions are continuously re-evaluated by management and enhanced, as appropriate, based on improvements in modeling techniques.

In accordance with the Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue No. 02-3, “Issues Involved in Accounting for Derivative Contracts Held for Trading Purposes and Contracts Involved in Energy Trading and Risk Management Activities” (“EITF 02-3”), recognition of a trading profit or loss at inception of a derivative transaction is prohibited unless fair value of that derivative is obtained from a quoted market price, supported by comparison to other observable market transactions, or based upon a valuation technique incorporating observable market data. Ambac defers trade date gains or losses on derivative transactions where the fair value is not determined based upon observable market transactions and market data.

Results of Operations

The following paragraphs describe the consolidated results of operations of Ambac and its subsidiaries for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, and its financial condition as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005. These results are presented for Ambac’s two reportable segments: Financial Guarantee and Financial Services.

Consolidated Net Income

Ambac’s net income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $213.5 million or $1.98 per diluted share, an increase of $38.4 million compared to $175.1 million, or $1.61 per diluted share in the three months ended September 30, 2005. Ambac’s income before income taxes was $297.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2006, an increase of 31% from income before income taxes of $227.0 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005. Of the $297.1 million of income before income taxes in the third quarter of 2006, $301.0 million was from Financial Guarantee, $15.1 million from Financial Services and $(19.0) million from Corporate, compared to $222.6 million, $21.1 million and $(16.7) million for Financial Guarantee, Financial Services and Corporate, respectively, in the third quarter of 2005. Corporate consists primarily of Ambac’s interest expense on its long-term debentures outstanding, partially offset by interest income on investments held at the parent company.

Financial Guarantee net income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 increased primarily as a result of a lower provision for loss and loss expenses and higher investment income; partially offset by lower net premiums earned from refunded policies. The Financial Services decrease in the third quarter of 2006 is primarily attributable to (i) lower

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

derivative product revenue and mark-to-market losses on total return swaps and non-trading derivatives, partially offset by higher investment income in the investment agreement business and higher net realized gains.

Ambac’s net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $673.2 million or $6.26 per diluted share, an increase of $126.4 million compared to $546.8 million, or $4.97 per diluted share in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Ambac’s income before income taxes was $925.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006, an increase of 25% from income before income taxes of $739.9 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Of the $925.8 million of income before income taxes in the nine months ended September 30, 2006, $899.1 million was from Financial Guarantee, $85.0 million from Financial Services and $(58.3) million from Corporate, compared to $713.9 million, $76.6 million and $(50.6) million for Financial Guarantee, Financial Services and Corporate, respectively, in the nine months ended September 30, 2005.

Financial Guarantee net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 increased primarily as a result of (i) a lower provision for loss and loss expenses, (ii) higher investment income, (iii) higher other income resulting from the sale of three aircraft from a previously reported defaulted enhanced equipment trust certificate, and (iv) net mark-to-market gains on credit derivative contracts, partially offset by higher underwriting expenses. The Financial Services increase in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 is primarily attributable to (i) higher net realized investment gains, primarily from cash recoveries on a security that had been written-off in 2002 and 2003, (ii) higher net mark-to-market gains on total return swap contracts, and (iii) higher net investment income (after interest expense) in the investment agreement business, partially offset by (i) changes in net mark-to-market gains/losses on non-trading derivatives, and (ii) lower derivative product revenue.

Included in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 income before income taxes in the Financial Guarantee segment, is the impact from cancellations of the remaining reinsurance contracts with AXA Re Finance S.A. (“AXA Re”) and American Re-Insurance Company (“American Re”) during the first quarter of 2006. The insured par that was recaptured as a result of the cancellation totaled approximately $3.9 billion. Included in ceded premiums written in Ambac’s Consolidated Statement of Operations is $37.0 million in returned premiums from the cancellation, of which $29.3 million was deferred. The difference, $7.7 million, included in net earned premiums, results from the difference between the negotiated amount of returned premiums and the associated unearned premium remaining on the previously ceded portion of the underlying guarantees. The net impact of this cancellation to the Consolidated Statement of Operations amounted to approximately $3.1 million, $2.0 million after-tax.

Included in the nine months ended September 30, 2005 income before income taxes in the Financial Guarantee segment, is the impact of a cancellation of a reinsurance contract with Radian Asset Assurance Inc. (“Radian”) during the first quarter of 2005. The insured par that was recaptured as a result of the cancellation totaled approximately $7.5 billion. Included in ceded premiums written in Ambac’s Consolidated Statement of Operations is $55.8 million in returned premiums from the cancellation, of which $51.3 million was deferred. The difference, $4.5 million, included in net earned premiums, results from the difference between the negotiated amount of returned premiums and the associated unearned premium remaining on the underlying guarantees. The net impact of this cancellation to the Consolidated Statement of Operations amounted to approximately $2.7 million, $1.8 million after-tax.

Financial Guarantee

Ambac provides financial guarantees in respect of debt obligations through its principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corporation, as well as credit protection in the form of structured credit derivatives through Ambac Credit Products LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambac Assurance. Ambac provides these services in three principal markets: public finance, structured finance and international finance.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Ambac Assurance guaranteed $26.7 billion of gross par value bonds during the three months ended September 30, 2006, a decrease of 16% from $31.8 billion during the comparable prior year period. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, Ambac Assurance guaranteed $96.5 billion in par value debt obligations, a 6% increase from $91.0 billion in par value debt obligations guaranteed in the nine months of 2005.

The following table provides a breakdown of guaranteed net par outstanding by market sector at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005:

 

(Dollars in billions)

   September 30,
2006
   December 31,
2005

Public Finance

   $ 279.6    $ 264.1

Structured Finance

     161.9      144.3

International Finance

     71.9      70.7
             

Total net par outstanding (1)

   $ 513.4    $ 479.1
             

The following tables provide a rating distribution of guaranteed net par outstanding based upon internal Ambac Assurance credit ratings at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 and a distribution by bond type of Ambac Assurance’s below investment grade exposures at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005. Below investment grade is defined as those exposures with a credit rating below BBB-:

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

 

     Percentage of Guaranteed Portfolio(1)  
    

September 30,

2006

   

December 31,

2005

 

AAA

   16 %   13 %

AA

   19     20  

A

   43     46  

BBB

   21     20  

Below investment grade

   1     1  
            

Total

   100 %   100 %
            

Summary of Below Investment Grade Exposure (1)

 

Bond Type

(Dollars in millions)

   September 30,
2006
   December 31,
2005

U.S. Public Finance:

     

Transportation

   $ 1,131    $ 653

Health care

     555      584

General obligation

     292      387

Tax-backed

     134      135

University

     70      70

Other

     152      146
             

Total U.S. Public Finance

     2,334      1,975
             

U.S. Structured Finance:

     

Enhanced equipment trust certificates

     962      927

Mortgage-backed and home equity

     775      507

Investor-owned utilities

     489      575

Pooled debt obligations

     101      384

Asset-backed

     162      188
             

Total U.S. Structured Finance

     2,489      2,581
             

International Finance:

     

Transportation revenue

     381      219

Investor-owned utilities

     —        52

Sovereign/sub-sovereign

     —        38

Other

     209      203
             

Total International Finance

     590      512
             

Grand Total

   $ 5,413    $ 5,068
             

(1) Internal Ambac Assurance credit ratings are provided solely to indicate the underlying credit quality of guaranteed obligations based on the view of Ambac and may differ from ratings determined by the independent ratings agencies. The ratings are subject to revision at any time and do not constitute investment advice.

There were 70 and 75 credits with Ambac Assurance ratings below investment grade at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Public Finance:

Public Finance bond obligations par value written was $9.3 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2006, which was 31% lower than $13.4 billion of par value written in the three months ended September 30, 2005. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006 par value written was $31.7 billion, which was 26% lower than $42.6 billion of par value written in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. These declines were primarily due to volume decreases in the new issue municipal market and lower financial guarantee insured market penetration.

Structured Finance:

Structured Finance obligations par value written was $12.8 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2006, which was 25% lower than $17.0 billion of par value written in the three months ended September 30, 2005. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, par value written was $51.6 billion, 24% higher compared to $41.5 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The decrease in Structured Finance obligations guaranteed for the third quarter of 2006 was primarily due to lower mortgage-backed and home equity securitizations and student loans; partially offset by higher pooled debt obligations and asset-backed and conduits obligations. The increase for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was primarily due to increases in structured insurance, pooled debt obligations, asset-backed and conduit obligations, and student loans, partially offset by lower investor-owned utility obligations.

International Finance:

International finance obligations include public purpose infrastructure projects, utilities and various types of structured financings originated outside the United States (“International Finance”), including asset-backed securities, whole business and future flow securitizations. International structured financings also encompass pooled debt obligations that may include significant components of domestic exposures. Ambac Assurance’s emphasis internationally has been on Western Europe and Australia. In the United Kingdom, Ambac Assurance has participated extensively in the Private Finance Initiative (“PFI”) whereby the government has been seeking private sector participation in certain infrastructure projects. Management expects demand for our financial guarantees on infrastructure transactions to increase in certain other European countries. Ambac also participates in less developed markets through certain structures such as future flow transactions and, to a lesser extent, pooled debt obligations. Future flow transactions generally securitize offshore U.S. dollar or Euro-based future revenue streams arising from exports or banking flows. International Finance bond obligations par value written was $4.6 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2006, which was 254% higher than $1.3 billion of par value written for the three months ended September 30, 2005. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006, par value written was $13.2 billion, which was 91% higher than $6.9 billion of par value written for the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increases in International Finance obligations guaranteed during the third quarter of 2006 is primarily due to higher pooled debt obligations, partially offset by lower transportation obligations. The increases for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 is primarily due to higher PFI, pooled debt, asset-backed obligations, and transportation, partially offset by lower investor-owned and public utility obligations.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Gross Premiums Written. Gross premiums written for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $212.3 million and $744.8 million, respectively, a decrease of $25.6 million or 11% from $237.9 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and a decrease of $44.9 million or 6% from $789.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005.

Up-front premiums written during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $67.5 million and $337.7 million, respectively, a decrease of 41% from $113.6 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and a decrease of 17% from $408.2 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Up-front premiums written in the third quarter experienced decreases in Public Finance and International Finance, partially offset by an increase in upfront Structured Finance premiums written. The nine months ended September 30, 2006 experienced decreases in Public Finance, partially offset by increases in both Structured and International Finance.

Installment premiums written for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $144.8 million and $407.1 million, respectively, an increase of 16% from $124.3 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005, and an increase of 7% from $381.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Installment premiums written in the third quarter of 2006 saw an increase in Public Finance, and International Finance, partially offset by a decrease in Structured Finance installment premiums written. The nine months ended September 30, 2006 saw increases in all three market sectors, Public, Structured and International Finance installment premiums written.

Reinsurance. Ambac Assurance’s reinsurance program is principally comprised of a surplus share treaty and facultative reinsurance. The surplus share treaty requires Ambac Assurance to cede covered transactions while affording Ambac Assurance the flexibility to cede par amounts of such transactions within a predefined range. Management uses facultative reinsurance to cede risks in amounts greater than the maximums that can be ceded under the surplus share treaty and risks which are excluded from the surplus share treaty. Ceded premiums written for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $26.3 million and $75.4 million, respectively, a decrease of $8.0 million or 23% from $34.3 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and an increase of $13.7 million or 22% from $61.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005.

Included in ceded premiums written in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 is $37.0 million and $55.8 million, respectively, in return premiums from reinsurance contracts that were cancelled during the first quarters of 2006 and 2005. Excluding the return premiums from the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, ceded premiums written were $112.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to $117.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005, a decrease of 4%. Ceded premiums as a percentage of gross premiums written were 12.4% and 14.4% for the third quarter of 2006 and 2005, respectively. Ceded premiums (exclusive of the return premiums) as a percentage of gross premiums written were 15.1% and 14.9% for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

Net Premiums Earned and Other Credit Enhancement Fees. Net premiums earned and other credit enhancement fees for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $214.5 million and $647.9 million, a decrease of 7% from $231.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2005 and is flat from $648.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The decreases were primarily the result of lower refundings and calls of previously insured obligations and other accelerations, such as reinsurance cancellations, (collectively referred to as “accelerated earnings”).

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Premium earnings under both the upfront and installment revenue recognition methods are in proportion to the principal amount guaranteed and result in higher premium earnings during periods where guaranteed principal is higher. However, given the same underlying attributes of an insured obligation such as tenor, gross premium amount, and amortization schedule, the timing of revenue recognition may differ for premiums collected upfront versus premiums collected in installments. When an issue insured by Ambac Assurance has been refunded or called, any remaining unearned premium (net of refunding credits, if any) is earned at that time. The level of refundings or calls vary, depending upon a number of conditions, primarily the relationship between current interest rates and interest rates on outstanding debt. Earnings on refundings relate to transactions where the premium was paid up-front at the inception of the policy. Accelerated earnings also include the difference between negotiated return premiums and the associated unearned premium on reinsurance cancellations. Net premiums earned during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 included $23.7 million and $86.1 million, respectively, from accelerated earnings as compared to $47.1 million and $106.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. Accelerated premiums in the third quarter of 2006 included $15.4 million from structured and international transactions, compared to $8.8 million for the third quarter of 2005. The nine months ended September 30, 2006 included $30.3 million from structured and international transactions compared to $21.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Included in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 accelerated earnings amounts were approximately $7.7 million and $4.5 million, respectively, from the cancellation of reinsurance contracts previously mentioned.

Normal net premiums earned (which is defined as net premiums earned less accelerated earnings and reconciled to total net premiums earned in the table below) increased 2% from $171.0 million in the third quarter of 2005 to $174.8 million in the third quarter of 2006. Normal net premiums earned for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $517.4 million, an increase of 2% from $504.9 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Normal net premiums earned for the three months ended September 30, 2006 increased 3% and 5% for Public and Structured Finance, respectively, and decreased 4% for International Finance, from the three months ended September 30, 2005. Normal net premiums earned for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 increased 4% and 6% for Public and Structured Finance, respectively, and decreased 3% for International Finance, from the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Public Finance normal earned premium growth has been negatively impacted by declining issuance and competitive pricing throughout 2006. The growth in normal earned premiums in Structured Finance has improved as the recent level of writings in asset classes such as commercial asset-backed securities, auto securitizations and pooled debt obligations has increased. The decline in International normal earned premiums was driven by significant paydowns and calls over the past several quarters and the recent business mix which has trended towards long-dated infrastructure transactions that earn premiums over a longer period of time than typical structured finance exposures.

The overall business environment has become more competitive, with increased competition from bank funding, the uninsured market, senior/subordinated securitizations and other triple-A-rated financial guarantors. This increased competition has had an adverse impact on pricing, however this competition and credit trends such as the ones we are currently experiencing are a normal part of Ambac Assurance’s business.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Other credit enhancement fees, which is primarily comprised of fees received from the structured credit derivatives product, were $16.0 million and $44.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively, an increase of 23% from $13.0 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and an increase of 18% from $37.6 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Included in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $0.8 million of accelerated other credit enhancement fees, compared to $1.8 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005. Excluding these accelerations, other credit enhancement fees would have increased 37% for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 22% for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. These increases are primarily due to higher domestic structured credit derivatives writings.

The following table provides a breakdown of net premiums earned by market sector and other credit enhancement fees:

 

(Dollars in Millions)

   Three Months Ended
September 30,
   Nine Months Ended
September 30,
   2006    2005    2006    2005

Public Finance

   $ 58.8    $ 56.9    $ 172.7    $ 166.7

Structured Finance

     71.0      67.3      210.9      199.8

International Finance

     45.0      46.8      133.8      138.4
                           

Total normal premiums earned

     174.8      171.0      517.4      504.9

Accelerated earnings

     23.7      47.1      86.1      106.1
                           

Total net premiums earned

     198.5      218.1      603.5      611.0

Other credit enhancement fees

     16.0      13.0      44.4      37.6
                           

Total net premiums earned and other credit enhancement fees

   $ 214.5    $ 231.1    $ 647.9    $ 648.6
                           

Net Investment Income. Net investment income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $120.2 million and $351.2 million, an increase of 9% from $110.6 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and an increase of 11% from $317.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increases were primarily attributable to (i) the growth of the investment portfolio resulting from the positive operating cash flows of the Financial Guarantee book of business, including cash received during the first quarter related to the previously mentioned reinsurance cancellations, (ii) a capital contribution from Ambac Financial Group, Inc. of $200 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, and (iii) rising interest rates. The increases were partially offset by a $5.3 million net positive adjustment booked in the third quarter of 2005 for certain municipal credits that have been pre-refunded. A pre-refunding shortens the maturity of a bond resulting in accelerated amortization of bond premium or discount. Investments in tax-exempt securities amounted to 74% and 71% of the total fair value of the portfolio as of September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005, respectively. The average pre-tax yield-to-maturity on the investment portfolio was 4.65% at September 30, 2006 compared with 4.58% at September 30, 2005.

Net Realized Investment Gains. Net realized investment gains in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $1.3 million and $2.8 million, respectively, compared to $5.0 million and $6.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. The following table details amounts included in net realized investment gains:

 

(Dollars in Millions)

   Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
   2006    2005     2006     2005  

Net gains (losses) on securities sold or called

   $ 1.3    $ (0.2 )   $ 0.8     $ 1.1  

Other than temporary impairment on securities

     —        (0.3 )     (0.1 )     (0.3 )

Foreign exchange gains on investments

     —        5.5       2.1       5.2  
                               

Net realized investment gains

   $ 1.3    $ 5.0     $ 2.8     $ 6.0  
                               

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Net Mark-to-Market Gains (Losses) on Credit Derivative Contracts. Net mark-to-market gains on credit derivative contracts for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $2.6 million and $9.9 million, respectively, compared to net mark-to-market gains (losses) of $1.6 million and ($4.8) million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. The changes in estimated fair value of structured credit derivatives during 2006 reflects general tightening of credit spreads on the underlying obligations. There were no realized net losses paid on structured credit derivatives for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005.

Other Income. Other income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $2.7 million and $35.0 million, respectively, compared to other income of $2.9 million and $6.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. During the first quarter of 2006, Ambac Assurance sold the three remaining aircraft from a previously reported defaulted enhanced equipment trust certificate. The gain on the sale amounted to $25.0 million. Also included within other income are structuring fee revenues for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 of approximately $0.4 million and $1.5 million, respectively, compared to $0.3 million and $0.7 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. Structuring fees are negotiated for certain domestic and international structured finance transactions, typically collected at inception of the transactions, and are earned ratably over the life of the transactions. Ambac has approximately $19.4 million and $16.4 million of deferred structuring and commitment fees included in “Other liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

Loss and Loss Expenses. Loss and loss expenses are based upon estimates of the aggregate losses inherent in the non-derivative financial guarantee portfolio as of the reporting date. Loss and loss expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were ($2.5) million and $10.4 million, respectively, compared to $89.1 million and $134.3 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005. The ($2.5) million loss provision in the third quarter of 2006 is primarily the result of a release of Hurricane Katrina reserves of $39.8 million, partially offset by increased reserves, primarily in the U.S. public finance sector.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

The following table summarizes the changes in the total net loss reserves for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and the year-ended December 31, 2005:

 

(Dollars in millions)

  

September 30,

2006

    December 31,
2005
 

Beginning balance of net loss reserves

   $ 300.6     $ 237.5  

Provision for losses and loss expenses

     10.5       149.9  

Losses paid

     (49.4 )     (119.1 )

Recoveries of losses paid from reinsurers

     1.1       22.9  

Other recoveries, net of reinsurance

     11.6       9.4  
                

Ending balance of net loss reserves

   $ 274.4     $ 300.6  
                

The following tables provide details of losses paid, net of recoveries received for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 and gross case basis credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 by market sector:

 

(Dollars in millions)

  

September 30,

2006

  

September 30,

2005

Net losses paid:

     

Public Finance

   $ 12.6    $ 12.6

Structured Finance

     23.0      68.7

International Finance

     1.1      2.8
             

Total

   $ 36.7    $ 84.1
             

(Dollars in millions)

  

September 30,

2006

  

December 31,

2005

Gross case basis credit reserves:

     

Public Finance

   $ 127.5    $ 97.0

Structured Finance

     0.5      9.5

International Finance

     4.0      —  
             

Total

   $ 132.0    $ 106.5
             

The following table summarizes Ambac Assurance’s loss reserves split between case basis credit loss reserves and active credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005.

 

(Dollars in millions)

  

September 30,

2006

   December 31,
2005

Gross loss and loss expense reserves:

     

Case basis credit reserves(1)(2)

   $ 132.0    $ 106.5

Active credit reserves

     147.6      197.6
             

Total

   $ 279.6    $ 304.1
             

(1) Ambac Assurance discounts estimated net payments using discount rates that approximate the average taxable equivalent yield on our investment portfolio. Discount rates applied to case basis credit reserves were 4.75% at both September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005.
(2) Reinsurance recoverables on case basis credit reserves were $5.3 million and $3.5 million at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

Active credit reserves were $147.6 million and $197.6 million at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. Included in the calculation of active credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 was the consideration of $9.7 million and $17.5 million, respectively, of reinsurance which would be due to Ambac Assurance from the reinsurers, upon default of the insured obligations. The active credit reserve at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 was comprised of 71 and 88 credits with net par outstanding of $5,417 million and $6,319 million, respectively. The decrease in net par outstanding of credits within the active credit reserve was driven primarily by credit improvements, exposure paydowns, and transfers to case basis credit reserves.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Case basis credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 were comprised of 8 and 10 credits with net par outstanding of $766.3 million and $839.0 million, respectively. The increase in case basis credit reserves was driven primarily by payments made during the quarter.

Net loss reserves as of September 30, 2006 include $50.5 million for Hurricane Katrina credits, down from $91.5 million at December 31, 2005. The decrease is primarily due to significant state and federal support recently provided to the region, particularly the greater New Orleans area. Approximately $730 million of Katrina impacted credits remain in Ambac’s classified credit portfolio. Ambac did not pay any Katrina related claims during the nine months ended September 30, 2006.

At September 30, 2006, expected future claim payments on credits that have already defaulted, net of estimated recoveries totaled $77.4 million. Related estimated future payments, net of recoveries are $73.9 million, $9.9 million, ($11.1) million, $3.8 million and $5.0 million for the remainder of 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Please refer to the “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” section of this Management’s Discussion and Analysis and to Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for further background information on loss reserves, our policy and for further explanation of potential changes.

Underwriting and Operating Expenses. Underwriting and operating expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $30.2 million and $100.0 million, respectively, an increase of 9% from $27.8 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and an increase of 11% from $89.9 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Underwriting and operating expenses consist of gross underwriting and operating expenses, less the deferral to future periods of expenses and reinsurance commissions related to the acquisition of new insurance contracts, plus the amortization of previously deferred expenses and net reinsurance commissions.

Gross underwriting and operating expenses were $45.8 million and $144.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, compared to $39.7 million and $129.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increases are primarily attributable to higher compensation costs. Compensation expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $33.6 million and $107.9 million, respectively, an increase of 28% from $26.2 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and an increase of 19% from $90.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Ambac’s 2006 expenses include the impact of implementation of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No.123-R “Share-Based Payment” Under provisions of SFAS 123-R, Ambac will accrue the 2007 stock-based compensation for those employees that are retirement eligible throughout 2006. Previously, such awards were recognized on the date of grant.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Financial Services

Through its Financial Services subsidiaries, Ambac provides financial and investment products including investment agreements, funding conduits, interest rate swaps, currency swaps and total return swaps. The investment agreement business is managed with the goal of approximately matching the cash flows of the investment agreement liabilities with the cash flows of the related investment portfolio. To achieve this goal in the investment agreement business, derivative contracts are used for hedging purposes. The primary activities in the derivative products business are intermediation of interest rate and currency swap transactions and taking total return swap positions on certain fixed income obligations. Most of the swap intermediation is done on a fully hedged basis with the exception of certain municipal interest rate swaps that are not hedged for the basis difference between taxable and tax-exempt interest rates. As such, changes in the relationship between taxable and tax-exempt interest rates will result in mark-to-market gains or losses.

Revenues. Revenues for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $115.4 million and $357.6 million, an increase of 33% from $86.6 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and an increase of 39% from $257.6 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005.

The increased revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2006 are primarily due to (i) higher interest income driven by the increase in interest rates and the overall size of the investment portfolio, and (ii) higher net realized investment gains due to the recovery of a previously impaired security noted below, partially offset by (i) lower derivative product revenues, and (ii) the impact of net mark-to-market gains/losses on total return swap contracts. The increased revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 are primarily due to (i) higher interest income, (ii) higher net realized investment gains due to the recovery of a previously impaired security noted below, and (iii) higher net mark-to-market gains on total return swap contracts, partially offset by (i) net mark-to-market gains on non-trading derivatives in 2005 and (ii) lower derivative product revenues.

Interest earned from investments made with proceeds from investment and payment agreements were $107.2 million and $287.2 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively, up 51% from $70.9 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and up 49% from $193.0 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increases were primarily driven by the issuance of investment agreements during the period. Derivative product revenues were $3.3 million and $11.3 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, down 63% from $8.9 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and down 14% from $13.2 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. These decreases were primarily due to lower mark-to-market gains in the third quarter of 2006. The net mark-to-market (loss) gain on total return swap contracts of ($0.5) million and $6.5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to mark-to-market gains (losses) of $2.3 million and ($2.3) million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005. The decrease for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was primarily due to a mark-to-market loss on one credit, partially offset by mark-to-market gains on certain credits due to spread tightening within the total return swap portfolio. Overall, for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 the total return swap portfolio has experienced spread narrowing. The mark-to-market gains on the non-trading derivative contracts for the nine months ended September 30, 2005, relate almost entirely to interest rate hedge contracts in Ambac’s investment agreement business. Those hedges met the technical requirements of FAS 133 as of July 1, 2005.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

During 2002 and 2003 realized losses included an impairment write-down of $139.7 million and $10.5 million, respectively, related to asset-backed notes issued by National Century Financial Enterprises, Inc (“NCFE”). These notes, which were backed by health care receivables and rated triple-A until October 25, 2002, defaulted and NCFE filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in November 2002. The loss was specific to the NCFE notes and had no impact on other investments held. In the nine months ended September 30, 2006, full year 2005 and full year 2004, Ambac has received cash recoveries of $50.8 million, $10.8 million and $17.9 million, respectively, resulting from distributions under the NCFE Bankruptcy Plan. In the third quarter of 2006, Ambac received cash recoveries of $6.6 million in connection with a litigation settlement agreement.

Expenses. Expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $100.2 million and $272.6 million, respectively, up 53% from $65.5 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and up 51% from $180.9 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. Included in the above are interest expenses related to investment and payment agreements of $97.1 million and $262.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively, and $62.6 million and $170.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. The increases are primarily related to an increase in the overall size of floating rate investment agreements.

Corporate Items

Interest Expense. Interest expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $19.5 million and $58.4 million, respectively, up 43% from $13.6 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and from $40.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increases are primarily attributable to Ambac’s issuance of $400 million, 5.95% debt, due December 5, 2035 in December 2005.

Corporate Expense. Corporate expenses include the operating expenses of Ambac Financial Group. Corporate expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were $3.0 million and $10.7 million, respectively, a decrease of 14% from $3.5 million in the three months ended September 30, 2005 and a decrease of 5% from $11.3 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The decreases are primarily related to Ambac’s contingent capital facility fees totaling $0.8 million and $2.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, compared to $1.2 million and $4.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005.

Provision for Income Taxes. Income taxes for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 were at an effective rate of 28.1% and 27.3%, respectively, compared to 22.8% and 26.1% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rates for 2006 is primarily due to higher taxable income resulting from improved financial guarantee underwriting results relative to the comparable prior period and a net release of tax reserves in the third quarter of 2005 as a result of the expiration of the statute of limitations on a prior tax year.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. Liquidity. Ambac’s liquidity, both on a short-term basis (for the next twelve months) and a long-term basis (beyond the next twelve months), is largely dependent upon: (i) Ambac Assurance’s ability to pay dividends or make other payments to Ambac; and (ii) external financings. Pursuant to Wisconsin insurance laws, Ambac Assurance may pay dividends, provided that, after giving effect to the distribution, it would not violate certain statutory surplus, solvency and asset tests. Additionally, no quarterly dividend may exceed the dividend paid in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year by more than 15% without notifying the Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner 30 days in advance of payment. Based upon these tests and with notice as described above, the maximum amount that will be available during 2006 for payment of dividends without regulatory approval by Ambac Assurance is $332.7 million. Ambac Assurance paid dividends of $102.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2006.

Ambac’s principal uses of liquidity are for the payment of its operating expenses, income taxes, interest on its debt, dividends on its shares of common stock, purchases of its common stock in the open market and capital investments in its subsidiaries.

Based on the amount of dividends that it expects to receive from Ambac Assurance and other subsidiaries during 2006, management believes that Ambac will have sufficient liquidity to satisfy its needs over the next twelve months, including the ability to pay dividends on its common stock in accordance with its dividend policy. Beyond the next twelve months, Ambac Assurance’s ability to declare and pay dividends to Ambac may be influenced by a variety of factors including adverse market changes, insurance regulatory changes and changes in general economic conditions. Consequently, although management believes that Ambac will continue to have sufficient liquidity to meet its debt service and other obligations over the long term, no guarantee can be given that Ambac Assurance will be able to dividend amounts sufficient to pay all of Ambac’s operating expenses, debt service obligations and dividends on its common stock.

A subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group provides a $360 million liquidity facility to a reinsurance company which acts as reinsurer with respect to a portfolio of life insurance policies. The liquidity facility, which is guaranteed by Ambac Assurance, provides temporary funding in the event that the reinsurance company’s capital is insufficient to make payments under the reinsurance agreement. The reinsurance company is required to repay all amounts drawn under the liquidity facility. No amounts have been drawn under this facility at September 30, 2006.

On October 23, 2006 (the “Redemption Date”), Ambac redeemed all of its outstanding $200 million 7.00% debentures at par plus accrued interest to the Redemption Date. The debentures were redeemed using portions of the proceeds from Ambac’s $400 million issuance of 5.95% debentures in December 2005. On the Redemption Date, Ambac wrote-off fees and expenses related to the original issuance of the 7.00% debentures of approximately $6.0 million ($3.9 million after-tax).

Ambac Assurance Liquidity. The principal uses of Ambac Assurance’s liquidity are the payment of operating expenses, claim payments, reinsurance premiums, taxes, dividends to Ambac and capital investments in its subsidiaries. Management believes that Ambac Assurance’s operating liquidity needs can be funded exclusively from its operating cash flow. The principal sources of Ambac Assurance’s liquidity are gross premiums written, scheduled investment maturities, net investment income and receipts from structured credit derivatives.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Financial Services Liquidity. The principal uses of liquidity by Financial Services subsidiaries are payment of investment and payment agreement obligations pursuant to defined terms, net obligations under interest rate, total return and currency swaps, operating expenses and income taxes. Management believes that its Financial Services liquidity needs can be funded from its operating cash flow, the maturity of its invested assets and from time to time, by short-term inter-company loans and repurchase transactions. The principal sources of this segment’s liquidity are proceeds from issuance of investment agreements, net investment income, maturities of securities from its investment portfolio (which are invested with the objective of closely matching the cash flows of its obligations under the investment agreements) and net receipts from interest rate, currency and total return swaps. The investment objectives with respect to investment agreements are to achieve the highest after-tax total return, subject to a minimum average quality rating of AA on invested assets, and to maintain a liquid floating rate investment portfolio, which includes short-term investments, to minimize interest rate and liquidity risk. As of September 30, 2006, the investment agreement business floating rate investment portfolio approximates $5.8 billion or 81% of the investment portfolio related to the investment agreement business.

Investment agreements subject Ambac to liquidity risk associated with unscheduled withdrawals of principal allowed by the terms of the investment agreements. As of September 30, 2006, approximately $4.2 billion or 60% of the outstanding investment agreements (excluding fair value hedge adjustments) include provisions where our counterparty has the ability to draw amounts from Ambac as the funds are needed, subject to certain limitations. For certain structured finance transactions, the counterparty may be required to reimburse Ambac for break costs resulting from early withdrawals (i.e. hedge termination fees and/or legal professional fees). The remaining portfolio of investment agreements approximating $2.8 billion relate to either scheduled or contingent draw investment agreements. Contingent draw investment agreements will only permit a draw in the event that well-defined, observable events have occurred, primarily credit events.

Credit Ratings and Collateral. Downgrades in Ambac Assurance’s triple-A financial strength rating would adversely affect Ambac’s ability to compete for business. Credit ratings are an important component of a financial institutions’ ability to compete in the financial guarantee, derivative, investment agreement and structured transaction markets. In the event that Ambac Assurance is downgraded, Ambac may be required to post incremental collateral to its investment agreement and derivative counterparties, introducing liquidity risk. In addition, most investment agreements provide certain remedies, including a termination of the investment agreement contract, for the investment agreement purchaser in the event of a downgrade of Ambac Assurance’s credit rating, typically to A1 by Moody’s or A+ by S&P. In most cases Ambac is permitted to post collateral or otherwise enhance its credit, prior to an actual draw on the investment agreement.

The financial services business executes a range of interest rate and cross-currency swaps to reduce the market risk on investment agreements with Ambac’s derivatives subsidiary, Ambac Financial Services, LLC. In addition, Ambac Financial Services provides interest rate and currency swap transactions for states, municipalities, asset-backed issuers and other entities in connection with their financings. Ambac Financial Services offsets most of the interest rate and currency risks in these instruments and incorporates these transactions under standardized derivative documents including collateral support agreements. Under these agreements, Ambac could be required to post collateral to a swap dealer in the event unrealized losses exceed a predetermined threshold amount. Ambac has posted collateral of $8.4 million

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

under these contracts at September 30, 2006. Conversely, Ambac could receive collateral from the counterparty in the event unrealized gains exceed a predetermined threshold. Ambac has received collateral of $177.9 million under these contracts at September 30, 2006. The thresholds afforded Ambac by the swap dealer would be reduced in the event of a downgrade of Ambac’s credit rating. The reduction in the threshold could result in Ambac posting additional amounts of collateral to the counterparty.

Ambac Capital Services enters into total return swaps and Ambac Credit Products enters into credit derivative contracts. All of our total return swaps and a portion of our credit derivatives have collateral support agreements. In addition, a downgrade of our financial strength rating below specified levels would allow credit derivative counterparties to terminate certain agreements, resulting in a possible payment of a settlement amount or we would have to pledge collateral for the benefit of the counterparty. At September 30, 2006, Ambac has not pledged collateral under any of its credit derivative or total return swap contracts.

Ambac manages this liquidity risk through the maintenance of liquid collateral and bank liquidity facilities. Additionally, Ambac generally has the right to re-hypothecate collateral that it receives under derivative contracts to counterparties.

Credit Facilities. On July 28, 2005, Ambac and Ambac Assurance, as borrowers, entered into a $400 million five year unsecured, committed revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) with a group of highly rated banks (the “Banks”). The Credit Facility was amended on July 28, 2006 to extend the expiration date from July 28, 2010 to July 28, 2011. The Credit Facility provides for borrowings by Ambac and Ambac Assurance on a revolving basis up to an aggregate of $400 million at any one time outstanding, which maximum amount may, at Ambac’s and Ambac Assurance’s request and subject to the terms and conditions of the facility, be increased up to $500 million.

Ambac and/or Ambac Assurance may borrow under the Credit Facility for general corporate purposes, including the payment of claims. Subject to the terms and conditions thereof, Ambac and/or Ambac Assurance may borrow under the Credit Facility until the final maturity date, which will occur on July 28, 2011. Loans may be denominated in U. S. Dollars or certain other currencies at the option of Ambac and/or Ambac Assurance. Ambac and/or Ambac Assurance has the option of selecting either (i) a Base Rate, a fluctuating rate equal to the higher of Citibank’s Base Rate and the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.5%, plus the Applicable Margin (as defined in the Credit Facility) or (ii) a Eurocurrency Rate, a periodic fixed rate equal to LIBOR plus the Applicable Margin. There are no outstanding loans under the Credit Facility. Neither Ambac nor Ambac Assurance have previously incurred any borrowing under this or prior similar facilities.

The Credit Facility contains customary representations, warranties and covenants for this type of financing, including two financial covenants requiring Ambac to: (i) maintain as of the end of each fiscal quarter a debt-to-capital ratio, excluding debt consolidated under FIN 46, of not more than 30%, and (ii) maintain at all times total stockholders’ equity equal to or greater than $2.8 billion. The stockholders’ equity financial covenant will increase annually, in an amount equal to 15% of the prior fiscal year’s net income and 15% of the net proceeds of any future equity issuances. The Credit Facility also provides for certain events of default with corresponding grace periods, including failure to pay any principal or interest when due, failure to comply with covenants, any material representation or warranty made by Ambac or Ambac Assurance proving to be false in any material respect, certain bankruptcy, insolvency or

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

receivership events affecting Ambac or Ambac Assurance, defaults relating to other indebtedness, imposition of certain judgments and a change in ownership of Ambac and/or Ambac Assurance. Ambac and Ambac Assurance are in full compliance with the terms and conditions of the Credit Facility.

Capital Support. Ambac Assurance has a series of perpetual put options on its own preferred stock. The counterparty to these put options are trusts established by a major investment bank. The trusts were created as a vehicle for providing capital support to Ambac Assurance by allowing it to obtain immediate access to new capital at its sole discretion at any time through the exercise of the put option. If the put option were exercised, Ambac Assurance would receive up to $800 million in return for the issuance of its own perpetual preferred stock, the proceeds of which may be used for any purpose, including the payment of claims. The preferred stock would give investors the rights of an equity investor in Ambac Assurance. Such rights are subordinate to insurance claims, as well as to the general unsecured creditors of Ambac Assurance. Dividend payments on the preferred stock are cumulative only if Ambac Assurance pays dividends on its common stock. Each trust is restricted to holding high-quality short-term commercial paper investments to ensure that it can meet its obligations under the put option. To fund these investments, each trust has issued its own auction market perpetual securities. Each trust is rated AA/Aa2 by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, Ambac Assurance incurred fees related to these perpetual put options of $2.6 million and $4.0 million, respectively. These fees are included as Corporate expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

From time to time, Ambac accesses the capital markets to support the growth of its businesses. In February 2006, Ambac filed Form S-3 with the SEC utilizing a “shelf” registration process for well known seasoned issuers. Under this process, Ambac may issue through February 2009 an unlimited amount of the securities described in the prospectus filed as part of the registration, namely, common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, and warrants of Ambac.

Balance Sheet. Total assets as of September 30, 2006 were $21.01 billion, up 6% compared to total assets of $19.73 billion at December 31, 2005. The increase was primarily due to cash generated from operations during the period. As of September 30, 2006, stockholders’ equity was $6.01 billion, a 12% increase from year-end 2005 stockholders’ equity of $5.37 billion. The increase stemmed primarily from net income during the period.

Ambac Assurance’s investment objectives for the Financial Guarantee portfolio are to maintain an investment duration that closely approximates the expected duration of related financial guarantee liabilities and achieve the highest after-tax net investment income. The Financial Guarantee investment portfolio is subject to internal investment guidelines. Such guidelines set forth minimum credit rating requirements and credit risk concentration limits.

The Financial Services investment portfolio consists primarily of assets funded with proceeds from the issuance of investment agreement liabilities. The investment objectives with respect to investment agreements are to achieve the highest after-tax total return, subject to a minimum average credit quality rating of Aa/AA on invested assets, and to maintain cash flow matching of invested assets to funded liabilities to minimize interest rate and liquidity exposure. The investment portfolio is subject to internal investment guidelines. Such guidelines set forth minimum credit rating requirements and credit risk concentration limits.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

The amortized cost and estimated fair value of investments in fixed income securities and short-term investments at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 were as follows:

 

(Dollars in millions)    September 30, 2006    December 31, 2005
   Amortized
Cost
   Estimated
Fair
Value
   Amortized
Cost
   Estimated
Fair
Value

Fixed income securities:

           

Municipal obligations

   $ 7,667.2    $ 7,913.9    $ 6,649.8    $ 6,896.4

Corporate obligations

     686.3      716.7      525.6      556.2

Foreign obligations

     251.1      255.2      203.4      206.7

U.S. government obligations

     180.5      178.0      184.5      184.5

U.S. agency obligations

     755.6      790.5      902.2      946.4

Mortgage and asset-backed securities

     6,985.7      7,001.2      6,315.6      6,333.8

Short-term

     277.8      277.8      472.0      472.0

Other

     98.4      99.5      13.5      14.2
                           
     16,902.6      17,232.8      15,266.6      15,610.2
                           

Fixed income securities pledged as collateral:

           

Mortgage and asset-backed securities

     381.6      375.3      378.5      371.2
                           

Total

   $ 17,284.2    $ 17,608.1    $ 15,645.1    $ 15,981.4
                           

The following table represents the fair value of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by either a U.S. government agency or U.S. government sponsored enterprise at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 by segment:

 

(Dollars in millions)

   Financial
Guarantee
   Financial
Services
   Corporate    Total

September 30, 2006:

           

Government National Mortgage Association

   $ 8.7    $ 2.0    $ —      $ 10.7

Federal National Mortgage Association

     665.2      208.2      —        873.4

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation

     264.2      268.7      —        532.9

Vendee Mortgage Trust

     —        —        —        —  
                           

Total

   $ 938.1    $ 478.9    $ —      $ 1,417.0
                           

December 31, 2005:

           

Government National Mortgage Association

   $ 11.1    $ 5.0    $ —      $ 16.1

Federal National Mortgage Association

     758.2      290.3      —        1,048.5

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation

     299.0      309.7      —        608.7

Vendee Mortgage Trust

     —        2.0      —        2.0
                           

Total

   $ 1,068.3    $ 607.0    $ —      $ 1,675.3
                           

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

The following table summarizes, for all securities in an unrealized loss position as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, the aggregate fair value and gross unrealized loss by length of time those securities have been continuously in an unrealized loss position:

 

(Dollars in millions)

   September 30, 2006    December 31, 2005
   Estimated
Fair
Value
   Gross
Unrealized
Losses
   Estimated
Fair
Value
   Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Municipal obligations in continuous unrealized loss for:

           

0 – 6 months

   $ —      $ —      $ 1,123.4    $ 9.8

7 - 12 months

     308.4      1.1      212.5      4.0

Greater than 12 months

     1,251.3      15.0      278.7      7.7
                           
     1,559.7      16.1      1,614.6      21.5
                           

Corporate obligations in continuous unrealized loss for:

           

0 – 6 months

     58.1      0.4      23.2      1.0

7 – 12 months

     9.6      —        1.5      —  

Greater than 12 months

     51.1      0.6      51.1      0.7
                           
     118.8      1.0      75.8      1.7
                           

Foreign obligations in continuous unrealized loss for:

           

0 – 6 months

     88.2      0.6      46.7      0.9

7 – 12 months

     42.8      0.5      5.5      0.3

Greater than 12 months

     43.1      1.2      14.2      1.6
                           
     174.1      2.3      66.4      2.8
                           

U.S. government obligations in continuous unrealized loss for:

           

0 – 6 months

     3.8      0.1      131.8      0.9

7 – 12 months

     63.4      1.6      7.4      0.1

Greater than 12 months

     66.1      1.1      17.4      0.1
                           
     133.3      2.8      156.6      1.1
                           

U.S. agency obligations in continuous unrealized loss for:

           

0 – 6 months

     —        —        296.5      4.5

7 – 12 months

     206.6      1.2      16.6      0.3

Greater than 12 months

     205.0      4.9      23.0      1.0
                           
     411.6      6.1      336.1      5.8
                           

Mortgage and asset-backed securities in continuous unrealized loss for:

           

0 – 6 months

     1,162.4      1.8      1,091.1      9.6

7 - 12 months

     417.1      2.2      411.6      3.4

Greater than 12 months

     1,344.9      27.6      885.8      19.1
                           
     2,924.4      31.6      2,388.5      32.1
                           

Other in continuous unrealized loss for:

           

0 – 6 months

     0.2      —        0.3      —  

7 - 12 months

     —        —        —        —  

Greater than 12 months

     0.2      —        0.5      0.1
                           
     0.4      —        0.8      0.1
                           

Total

   $ 5,322.3    $ 59.9    $ 4,638.8    $ 65.1
                           

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

Management has determined that the unrealized losses in fixed income securities at September 30, 2006 are primarily attributable to the current interest rate environment and that these unrealized losses are temporary in nature based upon (i) no principal and interest payment defaults on these securities; (ii) analysis of the creditworthiness of the issuer; and (iii) Ambac’s ability and current intent to hold these securities until a recovery in fair value or maturity. Of the $5,322.3 million that were in a gross unrealized loss position at September 30, 2006, below investment grade securities and non-rated securities had a fair value of $0.4 million and an unrealized loss of $0.02 million. Of the $4,638.8 million that were in a gross unrealized loss position at December 31, 2005, below investment grade securities and non-rated securities had a fair value of $19.8 million and an unrealized loss of $1.0 million.

There were impairment write-downs of $0 and $0.1 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and $0.7 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005. The net realized investment gains were primarily the result of the NCFE impairment recoveries received in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005. Other net realized investment gains in the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 were the result of security sales made in the usual course of business in order to achieve Ambac’s investment objectives for the Financial Guarantee and Financial Services investment portfolios.

The following table provides the ratings distribution of the Financial Guarantee investment portfolio, at fair values of $10.03 billion and $9.30 billion at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, and the Financial Services investment portfolio, at fair values of $7.48 billion and $6.62 billion at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively:

Rating (1) :

 

September 30, 2006:

  

Financial

Guarantee

   

Financial

Services

    Combined  

AAA

   83 %   91 %   86 %

AA

   15     3     10  

A

   1     5     3  

BBB

   <1     1     <1  

Below investment grade

   —       <1     <1  

Not Rated

   <1     —       <1  
                  
   100 %   100 %   100 %
                  

December 31, 2005:

                  

AAA

   85 %   91 %   88 %

AA

   14     3     9  

A

   1     4     2  

BBB

   <1     2     1  

Below investment grade

   —       <1     <1  

Not Rated

   <1     <1     <1  
                  
   100 %   100 %   100 %
                  

(1) Ratings represent Standard & Poor’s classifications. If unavailable, Moody’s rating is used.

Ambac’s fixed income portfolio includes securities covered by guarantees issued by Ambac Assurance (“insured securities”). The published ratings on these securities are triple-A by the major rating agencies as a result of the Ambac Assurance insurance policy and are reflected in the above table as AAA. Rating agencies generally do not publish separate underlying ratings (those ratings excluding the Ambac Assurance insurance) because the insurance cannot be legally separated from the underlying

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

security by the insurer. Ambac obtains underlying ratings through ongoing dialog with rating agencies. In the event these underlying ratings are not available from the rating agencies, Ambac will assign an internal rating. At September 30, 2006, securities with a total carrying value of $781.2 million representing 4% of the investment portfolio with a weighted-average underlying rating of BBB- was insured by Ambac. In determining this BBB- rating, approximately $98.4 million of the securities were assigned internal ratings by Ambac. As discussed in Item 1B in Ambac’s 2005 Form 10-K, the SEC sent written comments in 2005 regarding the proper accounting treatment for Ambac insured securities. On November 1, 2006, Ambac received correspondence from the SEC staff which referenced the FASB project on revenue recognition, claim liability recognition and related issues specifically for non-derivative financial guarantee contracts. The SEC staff noted that due to the ongoing FASB standard setting process, they have decided to defer further consideration of this issue as it relates to Ambac until the completion of that project.

Special Purpose and Variable Interest Entities. Information regarding special purpose and variable interest entities can be found in the Notes to the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-Q.

Cash Flows. Net cash provided by operating activities was $628.8 million and $708.1 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. These cash flows were primarily provided by Financial Guarantee operations.

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities was $468.9 million and ($160.1) million during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 included $542.3 million in net investment and payment agreements issued (net of investment and payment agreement draws), proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt associated with VIEs of $100.0 million and securities sold under agreements to repurchase of $57.0 million, partially offset by payments for redemption of long-term debt of $173.2 million. Financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2005 included purchases of treasury shares $306.8 million, partially offset by $171.9 million in net investment agreement draws paid (net of investment and payment agreements issued). Financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2005 also included the redemption of long-term debt associated with VIEs of $105.5 million, partially offset by proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt associated with VIEs of $100.0 million.

Net cash used in investing activities was $1,083.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2006, of which $4,036.9 million was used to purchase bonds, partially offset by the proceeds from sales and maturities of bonds of $2,293.9 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2005, $539.5 million was used in investing activities, of which $4,057.5 million was used to purchase bonds, partially offset by the proceeds and maturities of bonds of $2,820.7 million.

Net cash provided by operating, investing and financing activities was $13.9 million and $8.5 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

Material Commitments. The following table includes aggregated information about contractual obligations for Ambac, excluding those of entities consolidated under the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Interpretation No. 46, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities” (“FIN 46”). For a further discussion of FIN 46, see Note 5 “Special Purpose Entities and Variable Interest Entities”. These contractual obligations impact Ambac’s and its subsidiaries short-and long-term liquidity and capital resource needs. The table includes information about payments due under specified contractual obligations, aggregated by type of

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

contractual obligation, including claim payments, principal and interest payments of Ambac’s consolidated long-term debt obligations, investment agreement obligations, payment agreement obligations and payments due under operating leases.

 

(Dollars in millions)    Contractual Obligations by Year
   Remaining
2006
   2007    2008    2009    2010    Thereafter

Long-term debt obligations (1)

   $ 217.1    $ 65.0    $ 65.0    $ 65.0    $ 65.0    $ 3,715.4

Investment agreement obligations(1)

     217.2      1,685.7      1,790.2      770.2      704.2      4,473.8

Payment agreement obligations(1)

     8.2      71.9      78.6      67.3      65.9      1,202.2

Operating lease obligations

     2.1      8.5      8.6      8.9      9.4      80.6

Purchase obligations (2)

     1.7      3.2      1.9      —        —        —  

Post retirement benefits (3)

     0.2      1.0      1.0      1.0      1.0      5.2

Other long-term liabilities (4)

     73.9      9.8      0.5      3.8      5.0      172.2
                                         

Total.

   $ 520.4    $ 1,845.1    $ 1,945.8    $ 916.2    $ 850.5    $ 9,649.4
                                         

(1) Includes principal of and interest on obligations using current rates for floating rate obligations, long-term debentures adjusted for redemption in October 2006 of $200 million, 7% debentures.
(2) Purchase obligations includes various technology related maintenance agreements, rating agency fees and other outside services.
(3) Amount primarily represents benefit payments on postretirement benefit plans for the next 10 years. Contributions to the pension plan are not included as Ambac’s Board of Directors has deemed to freeze and terminate the plan on December 31, 2006.
(4) Amount represents expected claim payments on financial guarantee insurance contracts that have already defaulted. Expected claim payments on financial guarantee insurance contracts that have not yet defaulted are not included.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

In the ordinary course of business, Ambac manages a variety of risks, principally credit, market, liquidity, operational and legal. These risks are identified, measured and monitored through a variety of control mechanisms, which are in place at different levels throughout the organization.

Credit Risk. Ambac is exposed to credit risk in various capacities including as an issuer of financial guarantees, as counterparty to reinsurers and derivative and other financial contracts and as a holder of investment securities. Ambac’s Portfolio Risk Management Committee (“PRMC”) employs various procedures and controls to monitor and manage credit risk. The PRMC is comprised of senior risk professionals and senior management of Ambac. Its purview is enterprise-wide and its focus is on risk limits and measurement, concentration and correlation of risk, and the attribution of economic and regulatory capital in a portfolio context.

All financial guarantees and structured credit derivatives issued are subject to a formal credit underwriting process. Various factors affecting the creditworthiness of the underlying obligation are evaluated during the underwriting process. Senior credit personnel approve all transactions prior to issuing a financial guarantee. Subsequent to the issuance of a financial guarantee, credit personnel perform periodic reviews of exposures according to a schedule based on the risk profile of the guaranteed obligations or as necessitated by specific credit events or other macro-economic variables. Proactive credit remediation can help secure rights and remedies which mitigate losses in the event of default.

Ambac manages credit risk associated with its investment portfolio through adherence to specific investment guidelines. These guidelines establish limits based upon single risk concentration and minimum credit rating standards. Additionally, senior credit personnel monitor the portfolio on a continuous basis. Credit risk relating to derivative positions (other than

 

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)

structured credit derivatives) primarily concern counterparty default. The majority of these counterparties are clients of the financial guarantee business which have been subject to our formal underwriting process upon the issuance of a financial guarantee. The counterparty creditworthiness of new clients is separately evaluated by senior credit personnel upon entering these contracts. Counterparty default exposure is mitigated through the use of industry standard collateral posting agreements. For counterparties subject to such collateral posting agreements, collateral is posted when a derivative counterparty’s credit exposure exceeds contractual limits.

To minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurers, Ambac Assurance (i) monitors the financial condition of its reinsurers; (ii) is entitled to receive collateral from its reinsurance counterparties in certain reinsurance contracts; and (iii) has certain cancellation rights that can be exercised by Ambac Assurance in the event of a rating downgrade of a reinsurer. Ambac Assurance held letters of credit and collateral amounting to approximately $282.8 million from its reinsurers as of September 30, 2006. The rating agencies continually review reinsurers providing coverage to the financial guarantee industry. The following table provides ceded par outstanding by financial strength rating of Ambac Assurance’s reinsurers, on a Standard and Poor’s (“S&P”) basis:

 

(Dollars in billions)    September 30,
2006
   December 31,
2005

AAA

   $ 20.5    $ 19.2

AA

     26.5      21.1

A

     —        2.3

Not rated

     —        1.6
             

Total

   $ 47.0    $ 44.2
             

Market Risk. Market risk represents the potential for losses that may result from changes in the value of a financial instrument as a result of changes in market conditions. The primary market risks that would impact the value of Ambac’s financial instruments are interest rate risk, basis risk (e.g., taxable interest rates relative to tax-exempt interest rates, discussed below) and credit spread risk. Below we discuss each of these risks and the specific types of financial instruments impacted. Senior managers in Ambac’s Risk Analysis and Reporting group are responsible for monitoring risk limits and applying risk measurement methodologies. The results of this effort are reported to the PRMC. The estimation of potential losses arising from adverse changes in market conditions is a key element in managing market risk. Ambac utilizes various systems, models and stress test scenarios to monitor and manage market risk. This process includes frequent analyses of both parallel and non-parallel shifts in the yield curve, “Value-at-Risk” (“VaR”) and changes in credit spreads. These models include estimates, made by management, which utilize current and historical market information. The valuation results from these models could differ materially from amounts that would actually be realized in the market.

Financial instruments that may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates consist primarily of investment securities, loans, investment agreement liabilities, obligations under payment agreements, long-term debt, and derivative contracts used for hedging purposes.

Ambac Financial Services manages its municipal interest rate swaps business with the goal of being market neutral to changes in overall rates while retaining some basis risk. Ambac’s municipal interest rate swap portfolio may be adversely affected by changes in basis. If actual or projected tax-exempt interest rates increase or decrease in a parallel shift by 1% in relation to taxable interest rates, Ambac will experience a market-to-market gain or loss of $0.6 million at September 30, 2006 as compared to $0.7 million at December 31, 2005.

 

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)

A portion of the municipal interest rate swaps transacted by Ambac Financial Services contain provisions that are designed to protect Ambac against certain forms of tax reform, thus mitigating its basis risk. The estimation of potential losses arising from adverse changes in market relationships, known as VaR, is a key element in management’s monitoring of basis risk for the municipal interest rate swap portfolio. Ambac has developed a VaR methodology to estimate potential losses using a one day time horizon and a 99% confidence level. This means that Ambac would expect to incur losses greater than that predicted by VaR estimates only once in every 100 trading days, or about 2.5 times a year. Ambac’s methodology estimates VaR using a 300-day historical “look back” period. This means that changes in market values are simulated using market inputs from the past 300 days. Ambac supplements its VaR methodology, which is a good risk management tool in normal markets, by performing rigorous stress testing to measure the potential for losses in abnormally volatile markets. These stress tests include (i) parallel and non-parallel shifts in the yield curve and (ii) immediate changes in normal basis relationships, such as those between taxable and tax-exempt markets.

Financial instruments that may be adversely affected by changes in credit spreads include Ambac’s outstanding structured credit derivative and total return contracts. Ambac, through its subsidiary Ambac Credit Products, enters into structured credit derivative contracts. These contracts require Ambac Credit Products to make payments upon the occurrence of certain defined credit events relating to an underlying obligation (generally a fixed income obligation). If credit spreads of the underlying obligations change, the market value of the related structured credit derivative changes. As such, Ambac Credit Products could experience mark-to-market gains or losses. Market liquidity could also impact valuations. Changes in credit spreads are generally caused by changes in the market’s perception of the credit quality of the underlying obligations. Ambac offers credit derivatives to provide credit protection enabling financial institutions to hedge portfolios of credit risk achieving either economic or regulatory relief. Ambac Credit Products structures its contracts with partial hedges from various financial institutions or with first loss protection. Such structuring mitigates Ambac Credit Products’ risk of loss and reduces the price volatility of these financial instruments. Management models the potential impact of credit spread changes on the value of its contracts.

Ambac, through its subsidiary Ambac Capital Services, enters into total return swap contracts. These contracts require Ambac Capital Services to pay a specified spread in excess of LIBOR in exchange for receiving the total return of an underlying fixed income obligation over a specified period of time. If credit spreads of the underlying obligations change, the market value of the related total return swaps changes and Ambac Capital Services could experience mark-to-market gains or losses.

The impact of changes in credit spreads will vary based upon the volume, tenor, interest rates, and other market conditions at the time these fair values are determined. The increase in sensitivities to changes in credit spreads is primarily due to the average tenor of the portfolio.

Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk relates to the possible inability to satisfy contractual obligations when due. This risk is present in financial guarantee contracts, derivative contracts and investment agreements. Ambac Assurance manages its liquidity risk by maintaining a comprehensive daily analysis of projected cash flows. Additionally, the financial guarantee business maintains a minimum level of cash and short-term investments at all times. The investment agreement business manages liquidity risk by matching the maturity schedules of its invested assets, including hedges, with the maturity schedules of its investment agreement liabilities. Ambac Financial Services maintains cash and short-term investments and closely matches the dates swap payments are made and received. See additional discussion in “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section.

 

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)

Operational Risk. Operational risk relates to the potential for loss caused by a breakdown in information, communication and settlement systems. Ambac mitigates operational risk by maintaining and testing critical systems (and their system backup) and performing ongoing control procedures to monitor transactions and positions, maintain documentation, confirm transactions and ensure compliance with regulations.

Ambac maintains a disaster recovery site in Kingston, New York as part of its Disaster Recovery Plan. This remote hot-site facility is complete with user work stations, phone system, data center, internet connectivity and a power generator, capable of serving the needs of the disaster recovery team to support all business segment operations. The plan, facility and systems are revised and upgraded where necessary, and user tested annually to confirm their readiness.

Legal Risk. Legal risks attendant to Ambac’s businesses include uncertainty with respect to the enforceability of the obligations insured by Ambac Assurance and the security for such obligations, as well as uncertainty with respect to the enforceability of the obligations of Ambac’s counterparties, including contractual provisions intended to reduce exposure by providing for the offsetting or netting of mutual obligations. Ambac seeks to remove or minimize such uncertainties through continuous consultation with internal and external legal advisers to analyze and understand the nature of legal risk, to improve documentation and to strengthen transaction structure.

 

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Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

  (a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. Ambac Financial Group’s management, with the participation of Ambac Financial Group’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of Ambac Financial Group’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), as of the end of the period covered by this report. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on this evaluation, Ambac Financial Group’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of such period, Ambac Financial Group’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective at the reasonable assurance level in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting, on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by Ambac Financial Group (including its consolidated subsidiaries) in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act.

 

  (b) Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting. There have not been any changes in Ambac Financial Group’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during Ambac Financial Group’s fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2006 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, Ambac Financial Group’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

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PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

Items 1, 3, 4 and 5 are omitted either because they are inapplicable or because the answer to such question is negative.

Item 2 – Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

The Board of Directors of Ambac, at its October 2006 meeting, increased the number of shares available under Ambac’s Share Repurchase Program by six million shares. This increases the total number of shares to be repurchased up to 24,000,000 shares of Ambac Financial Group’s Common Stock. Ambac Financial Group will only repurchase shares of its Common Stock under the repurchase program where it feels that it is economically attractive to do so and is in conformity with regulatory and rating agency guidelines. The following table summarizes Ambac Financial Group’s repurchase program during the third quarter of 2006 and shares available at September 30, 2006:

 

     Total Shares
Purchased (1)
   Average Price Paid
Per Share
   Total Number of
Shares Purchased
as Part of Publicly
Announced Plan
(1)
   Maximum Number of
Shares That May Yet
Be Purchased Under
the Plan

July 2006

   —      $ —      —      3,971,874

August 2006

   281,898    $ 82.93    281,898    3,689,976

September 2006

   785    $ 83.56    785    3,689,191
                     

Third quarter 2006

   282,683    $ 82.93    282,683    3,689,191
                     

(1) All shares repurchased were pursuant to a stock repurchase plan authorized by Ambac’s Board of Directors which included the repurchase of 282,683 shares during the third quarter of 2006 for settling awards under Ambac’s long-term incentive plans.

From October 1, 2006 through November 3, 2006, Ambac has repurchased 100,000 shares of its Common Stock under its stock repurchase program.

Item 6 - Exhibits

The following are annexed as exhibits:

 

Exhibit

Number

  

Description

10.38   

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 1997 Equity Plan, amended as of July 24, 2006.

10.39   

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 1997 Director’s Equity Plan, amended as of October 24, 2006.

10.40   

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award.

31.1   

Certification of CEO Pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14.

31.2   

Certification of CFO Pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14.

32.1   

Certification of CEO Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

32.2   

Certification of CFO Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

 

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PART II - OTHER INFORMATION (Continued)

 

99.11    Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries Consolidated Unaudited Financial Statements as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 and for the periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

  Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
  (Registrant)
Dated: November 8, 2006   By:  

/s/ Sean T. Leonard

    Sean T. Leonard
    Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer and Duly Authorized Officer)

 

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit

Number

  

Description

10.38    Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 1997 Equity Plan, amended as of July 24, 2006.
10.39    Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 1997 Director’s Equity Plan, amended as of October 24, 2006.
10.40    Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award.
31.1    Certification of CEO Pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13A-14 and 15D-14, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2    Certification of CFO Pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13A-14 and 15D-14, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1    Certification of CEO Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2    Certification of CFO Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
99.11    Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries Consolidated Unaudited Financial Statements as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 and for the periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005.

 

58

EX-10.38 2 dex1038.htm AMBAC FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. 1997 EQUITY PLAN, AMENDED AS OF JULY 24, 2006 Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 1997 Equity Plan, amended as of July 24, 2006

EXHIBIT 10.38

AMBAC 1997 EQUITY PLAN

(amended as of July 24, 2006)

1. Purposes

The purposes of the Ambac 1997 Equity Plan (the “Plan”) are to attract, retain and motivate key employees of the Company, to compensate them for their contributions to the growth and profits of the Company and to encourage them to own Common Stock.

2. Definitions

For purposes of the Plan, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

“Administrator” means the individual or individuals to whom the Committee delegates authority under the Plan in accordance with Section 3(d).

“Ambac” means Ambac Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

“Award” means an award made pursuant to the terms of the Plan to an Eligible Individual in the form of Stock Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Stock Awards, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Units or Other Awards.

“Award Agreement” means a written document approved in accordance with Section 3 which sets forth the terms and conditions of the Award to the Participant. An Award Agreement may be in the form of a certificate issued by Ambac or one of its Subsidiaries which is executed by an officer on behalf of Ambac or such Subsidiary but does not require the signature of the Participant.

“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the applicable rulings and regulations (including any proposed regulations) thereunder.

“Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board, any successor committee thereto or any other committee appointed from time to time by the Board to administer the Plan. The Committee shall consist of at least two individuals and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board.

“Common Stock” means the Common Stock, par value $.01 per share, of the Company.

“Company” means Ambac and its Subsidiaries.

“Eligible Individuals” means the individuals described in Section 6 who are eligible for Awards under the Plan.

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the applicable rulings and regulations thereunder.

“Excluded Individual” means (i) any individual who is designated by the Company at the time of hire as not eligible to participate in the Plan or (ii) any individual who is treated or designated by the Company as an independent contractor, leased employee (including, without limitation, a “leased employee” as defined in Section 414(n) of the Code) or consultant. Excluded Individuals are not eligible to participate in or receive benefits under the Plan. If any Excluded Individual pursuant to the preceding clauses (i) or (ii) shall be determined by a court or federal, state or local regulatory or administrative authority to have served as a common law employee of the Company, such determination shall not alter such person’s status as an Excluded Individual for purposes of the Plan.


“Fair Market Value” means, with respect to a share of Common Stock, the fair market value thereof as of the relevant date of determination, as determined in accordance with a valuation methodology approved by the Committee. In the absence of any alternative valuation methodology approved by the Committee, the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock shall equal the average of the highest and the lowest quoted selling price of a share of Common Stock as reported on the composite tape for securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or such other national securities exchange as may be designated by the Committee, or, in the event that the Common Stock is not listed for trading on a national securities exchange but is quoted on an automated system, on such automated system, in any such case on the valuation date (or, if there were no sales on the valuation date, the average of the highest and the lowest quoted selling prices as reported on said composite tape or automated system for the most recent day during which a sale occurred).

“Incentive Stock Option” means a Stock Option which is an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code and designated by the Committee as an Incentive Stock Option in an Award Agreement.

“Nonqualified Stock Option” means a Stock Option which is not an Incentive Stock Option.

“Other Award” means any other form of award authorized under Section 13 of the Plan.

“Participant” means an Eligible Individual to whom an Award has been granted under the Plan.

“Performance Unit” means a performance unit granted to an Eligible Individual pursuant to Section 12 hereof.

“Predecessor Plan” means the AMBAC Inc. 1991 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended.

“Restoration Option” means a Stock Option that is awarded upon the exercise of a Stock Option earlier awarded under the Plan or the Predecessor Plan (an “Underlying Option”) for which the exercise price is paid in whole or in party by tendering shares of Common Stock owned by the Participant, where such Restoration Option (i) covers a number of shares of Common Stock no greater than the number of shares tendered in payment of the exercise price of the Underlying Option plus the number of shares withheld to pay taxes arising upon such exercise, (ii) the expiration date of the Restoration Option is no later than the expiration date of the Underlying Option and (iii) the exercise price per share of the Restoration Option is no less than the Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock on the date of exercise of the Underlying Option.

“Restricted Stock Unit” means a restricted stock unit granted to an Eligible Individual pursuant to Section 11 hereof.

“Stock Appreciation Right” means a right to receive all or some portion of the appreciation on shares of Common Stock granted to an Eligible Individual pursuant to Section 9 hereof.

“Stock Award” means a share of Common Stock granted to an Eligible Individual for no consideration other than the provision of services or offer for sale to an Eligible Employee at a purchase price determined by the Committee, in either case pursuant to Section 10 hereof.

“Stock Option” means an Award to purchase shares of Common Stock granted to an Eligible Individual pursuant to Section 8 hereof, which Award may be either an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonqualified Stock Option.

 

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“Subsidiary” means (i) a corporation or other entity with respect to which Ambac, directly or indirectly, has the power, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise, to elect at least a majority of the members of such corporation’s board of directors or analogous governing body, or (ii) any other corporation or other entity in which Ambac, directly or indirectly, has an equity or similar interest and which the Committee designates as a Subsidiary for purposes of the Plan.

“Substitute Award” means an Award granted in connection with a corporate transaction, such as a merger, combination, consolidation or acquisition of property or stock upon assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding awards previously granted by a company or other entity.

3. Administration of the Plan

(a) Power and Authority of the Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the Committee, which shall have full power and authority, subject to the express provisions hereof:

(i) to select Participants from the Eligible Individuals;

(ii) to make Awards in accordance with the Plan;

(iii) to determine the number of shares of Common Stock subject to each Award or the cash amount payable in connection with an Award;

(iv) to determine the terms and conditions of each Award, including, without limitation, those related to vesting, forfeiture, payment and exercisability, and the effect, if any, of a Participant’s termination of employment with the Company, and including the authority to amend the terms and conditions of an Award after the granting thereof to a Participant in a manner that is not, without the consent of the Participant, prejudicial to the rights of such Participant in such Award;

(v) to specify and approve the provisions of the Award Agreements delivered to Participants in connection with their Awards;

(vi) to construe and interpret any Award Agreement delivered under the Plan;

(vii) to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and procedures relating to the Plan;

(viii) to vary the terms of Awards to take account of tax, securities law and other regulatory requirements of foreign jurisdictions;

(ix) subject to the provisions of the Plan and subject to such additional limitations and restrictions as the Committee may impose, to delegate to one or more officers of the Company some or all of its authority under the Plan;

(x) to employ such legal counsel, independent auditors and consultants as it deems desirable for the administration of the Plan and to rely upon any opinion or computation received therefrom; and

(xi) to make all other determinations and to formulate such procedures as may be necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan.

(b) Plan Construction and Interpretation. The Committee shall have full power and authority, subject to the express provisions hereof, to construe and interpret the Plan.

(c) Determinations of Committee Final and Binding. All determinations by the Committee in carrying out and administering the Plan and in construing and interpreting the Plan shall be final, binding and conclusive for all purposes and upon all persons interested herein.

 

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(d) Delegation of Authority. The Committee may, but need not, from time to time delegate some or all of its authority under the Plan to an Administrator consisting of one or more members of the Committee or of one or more officers of the Company; provided, however, that the Committee may not delegate its authority (i) to make Awards to Eligible Individuals who are officers of the Company who are delegated authority by the Committee hereunder, or (ii) under Section 16 of the Plan. Any delegation hereunder shall be subject to the restrictions and limits that the Committee specifies at the time of such delegation or thereafter. Nothing in the Plan shall be construed as obligating the Committee to delegate authority to an Administrator, and the Committee may at any time rescind the authority delegated to an Administrator appointed hereunder or appoint a new Administrator. At all times, the Administrator appointed under this Section 3(d) shall serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the Committee. Any action undertaken by the Administrator in accordance with the Committee’s delegation of authority shall have the same force and effect as if undertaken directly by the Committee, and any reference in the Plan to the Committee shall, to the extent consistent with the terms and limitations of such delegation, be deemed to include a reference to the Administrator.

(e) Liability of Committee. No member of the Committee shall be liable for any action nor determination made in good faith, and the members of the Committee shall be entitled to indemnification and reimbursement in the manner provided in Ambac’s Certificate of Incorporation and the By-laws as they may be amended from time to time. In the performance of its responsibilities with respect to the Plan, the Committee shall be entitled to rely upon information and advice furnished by the Company’s officers, the Company’s accountants, the Company’s counsel and any other party the Committee deems necessary, and no member of the Committee shall be liable for any action taken or not taken in reliance upon any such advice.

(f) Action by the Board. Anything in the Plan to the contrary notwithstanding, any authority or responsibility which, under the terms of the Plan, may be exercised by the Committee may alternatively be exercised by the Board.

4. Effective Date and Term

The Plan became effective on May 15, 1997 after approval by the Board and the stockholders of Ambac in 1997. Upon recommendation by the Board, the stockholders of Ambac adopted certain amendments to the Plan, including extending the term of the Plan by seven years to May 6, 2011.

5. Shares of Common Stock Subject to the Plan

(a) General. Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 15(b) hereof, the number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Awards under the Plan (the Section 5 Limit) shall not exceed, in the aggregate:

(I) 14,000,000 shares; plus

(II) the number of shares of Common Stock that remain available for issuance under the Predecessor Plan as of the date this Plan is approved by the stockholders of the Company (increased by any shares of Common Stock subject to any award (or portion thereof) outstanding under the Predecessor Plan on such date which lapses, expires or is otherwise terminated without the issuance of such shares or is settled by the delivery of consideration other than shares).

Shares issued under this Plan may be either authorized but unissued shares, treasury shares or any combination thereof.

 

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(b) Rules Applicable to Determining Shares Available for Issuance. For purposes of determining the number of shares of Common Stock that remain available for issuance, the following shares shall be added back to the Section 5 Limit and again be available for Awards:

(x) The number of shares tendered to pay the exercise price of a Stock Option or other Award; and

(y) The number of shares withheld from any Award to satisfy a Participant’s tax withholding obligations or, if applicable, to pay the exercise price of a Stock Option or other Award.

In addition, any shares underlying Substitute Awards shall not be counted against the Section 5 Limit and shall not be subject to Section 5(c) below.

(c) Special Limits. Anything to the contrary in Section 5(a) above notwithstanding, but subject to Section 15(b) below, the following special limits shall apply to shares of Common Stock available for Awards under the Plan:

(i) The maximum number of shares that may be issued in the form of Stock Awards, or issued upon settlement of Restricted Stock Units or Other Awards, shall equal 4,000,000 shares, of which no more than a number of shares equal to 10% of the Section 5 Limit shall be in the form of Other Awards, provided, however, that any such Stock Awards, Restricted Stock Units or Other Awards that are issued in lieu of cash compensation that otherwise would be paid to a Participant, or in satisfaction of any other obligation owed by the Company to a Participant, shall not be counted against such limitation; and

(ii) The maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be subject to Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights granted to any Eligible Individual in any fiscal year of the Company shall equal 600,000 shares plus any shares which were available under this Section 5(c) (ii) for Awards of Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights to such Eligible Individual in any prior fiscal year but which were not covered by such Awards.

(d) No Further Awards under Predecessor Plan. From and after the date this Plan is approved by the stockholders of the Company, no further awards shall be made under the Predecessor Plan.

6. Eligible Individuals

Awards may be granted by the Committee to individuals (“Eligible Individuals”) who are: (i) officers or other key employees of the Company; (ii) employees of joint ventures, partnerships or similar business organizations in which the Company has a direct or indirect equity interest; and individuals who provide services to any joint ventures or business organizations in which the Company may participate in the future. Excluded Individuals are not eligible to receive Awards under the Plan. Members of the Committee will not be eligible to receive Awards under the Plan. An individual’s status as an Administrator will not affect his or her eligibility to participate in the Plan.

 

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7. Awards in General

(a) Types of Award and Award Agreement. Awards under the Plan may consist of Stock Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Stock Awards, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Units or Other Awards. Any Award described in Sections 8 through 13 of the Plan may be granted singly or in combination or tandem with any other Award, as the Committee may determine. Awards may be made in combination with, in replacement of, or as alternatives to grants of rights under any other employee compensation plan of the Company, including the plan of any acquired entity, or may be granted in satisfaction of the Company’s obligations under any such plan.

(b) Terms Set Forth in Award Agreement. The terms and provisions of an Award shall be set forth in a written Award Agreement approved by the Committee and delivered or made available to the Participant as soon as practicable following the date of the Award. The vesting, exercisability, payment and other restrictions applicable to an Award (which may include, without limitation, restrictions on transferability or provision for mandatory resale to the Company) shall be determined by the Committee and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may accelerate (i) the vesting or payment of any Award, (ii) the lapse of restrictions on any Award or (iii) the date on which any Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right or other Award first becomes exercisable.

(c) Termination of Employment and Change in Control. The Committee shall also have full authority to determine and specify in the applicable Award Agreement the effect, if any, that a Participant’s termination of employment for any reason will have on the vesting, exercisability, payment or lapse of restrictions applicable to an Award. The date of a Participant’s termination of employment for any reason shall be determined in the sole discretion of the Committee. Similarly, the Committee shall have full authority to determine the effect, if any, of a change in control of Ambac on the vesting, exercisability, payment or lapse of restrictions applicable to an Award, which effect may be specified in the applicable Award Agreement or determined at a subsequent time.

(d) Dividends and Dividend Equivalents. The Committee may provide Participants with the right to receive dividends or payments equivalent to dividends or interest with respect to an outstanding Awards, which payments can either be paid currently or deemed to have been reinvested in shares of Common Stock, and can be made in Common Stock, cash or a combination thereof, as the Committee shall determine.

8. Stock Options

(a) Terms of Stock Options Generally. A Stock Option shall entitle the Participant to whom the Stock Option was granted to purchase a specified number of shares of Common Stock during a specified period at a price that is determined in accordance with Section 8(b) below. Stock Options may be either Nonqualified Stock Options or Incentive Stock Options. The Committee will fix the vesting and exercisability conditions applicable to a Stock Option, provided that no Stock Option shall vest sooner than one year from the date of grant (subject to early vesting, if so provided by the Committee, upon death, disability, termination of employment or a change in control of the Company.

(b) Exercise Price. The exercise price per share of Common Stock purchasable under a Stock Option shall be fixed by the Committee at the time of grant or, alternatively, shall be determined by a method specified by the Committee at the time of grant; provided, however, that the exercise price per share shall be no less than 100% of the Fair Market Value per share on the date of grant (or it the exercise price is not fixed on the date of grant, then on such date as the exercise price is fixed); and provided further, that, except as provided in Section 15(b) below, the exercise price per share of Common Stock applicable to a Stock Option may not be adjusted or amended, including by means of amendment, cancellation or the replacement of such Stock Option with a subsequently awarded Stock Option. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exercise price per share of a Stock Option that is a Substitute Award may be less than the Fair Market Value per share on the date of award, provided that the excess of:

(i) the aggregate Fair Market Value (as of the date such Substitute Award is granted) of the shares of Common Stock subject to the Substitute Award, over

 

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(ii) the aggregate exercise price thereof,

does not exceed the excess of:

(iii) the aggregate fair market value (as of the time immediately preceding the transaction giving rise to the Substitute Award, such fair market value to be determined by the Committee) of the shares of the predecessor entity that were subject to the award assumed or substituted for by the Company, over

(iv) the aggregate exercise price of such shares.

(c) Option Term. The term of each Stock Option shall be fixed by the Committee and shall not exceed ten years from the date of grant.

(d) Method of Exercise. Subject to the provisions of the applicable Award Agreement, the exercise price of a Stock Option may be paid in cash or previously owned shares or a combination thereof and, if the applicable Award Agreement so provides or the Committee otherwise so determines, in whole or in part through the withholding of shares subject to the Stock Option with a value equal to the exercise price. In accordance with the rules and procedures established by the Committee for this purpose, the Stock Option may also be exercised through a “cashless exercise” procedure approved by the Committee involving a broker or dealer approved by the Committee, that affords Participants the opportunity to sell immediately some or all of the shares underlying the exercised portion of the Stock Option in order to generate sufficient cash to pay the Stock Option exercise price and/or to satisfy withholding tax obligations related to the Stock Option.

9. Stock Appreciation Rights

(a) General. A Stock Appreciation Right shall entitle a Participant to receive, upon satisfaction of the conditions to the payment specified in the applicable Award Agreement, an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value on the exercise date of the number of shares of Common Stock for which the Stock Appreciation Right is exercised, over the exercise price for such Stock Appreciation Right specified in the applicable Award Agreement. The exercise price per share of Common Stock covered by a Stock Appreciation Right shall be fixed by the Committee at the time of grant or, alternatively, shall be determined by a method specified by the Committee at the time of grant; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 9(b) below, the exercise price per share shall be no less than 100% of the Fair Market Value per share on the date of grant (or if the exercise price is not fixed on the date of grant, then on such date as the exercise price is fixed); and provided further, that, except as provided in Section 15(b) below, the exercise price per share of Common Stock subject to a Stock Appreciation Right may not be adjusted or amended, including by means of amendment, cancellation or the replacement of such Stock Appreciation Right with a subsequently awarded Stock Appreciation Right. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exercise price per share of a Stock Appreciation Right that is a Substitute Award may be less than the Fair Market Value per share on the date of award, provided, that such exercise price is not less than the minimum exercise price that would be permitted for an equivalent Stock Option as determined in accordance with Section 8(b) above. At the sole discretion of the Committee, payments to a Participant upon exercise of a Stock Appreciation Right may be made in cash, in shares of Common Stock having an aggregate Fair Market Value as of the date of exercise equal to such amount, or in a combination of cash and shares having an aggregate value as of the date of exercise equal to such amount.

(b) Stock Appreciation Rights in Tandem with Stock Options. A Stock Appreciation Right may be granted alone or in addition to other Awards, or in tandem with a Stock Option. A Stock Appreciation Right granted in tandem with a Stock Option may be granted either at the same time as such Stock Option

 

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or subsequent thereto. If granted in tandem with a Stock Option, a Stock Appreciation Right shall cover the same number of shares of Common Stock as covered by the Stock Option (or such lesser number of shares as the Committee may determine) and shall be exercisable only at such time or times and to the extent the related Stock Option shall be exercisable, and shall have the same term and exercise price as the related Stock Option (which, in the case of a Stock Appreciation Right granted after the grant of the related Stock Option, may be less than the Fair Market Value per share on the date of grant of the tandem Stock Appreciation Right). Upon exercise of a Stock Appreciation Right granted in tandem with a Stock Option, the related Stock Option shall be canceled automatically to the extent of the number of shares covered by such exercise; conversely, if the related Stock Option is exercised as to some or all of the shares covered by the tandem grant, the tandem Stock Appreciation Right shall be canceled automatically to the extent of the number of shares covered by the Stock Option exercise.

10. Stock Awards

(a) General. A Stock Award shall consist of one or more shares of Common Stock granted to a Participant for no consideration other than the provision of services (or, if required by applicable law in the reasonable judgment of the Company, for payment of the par value of such shares). Stock Awards shall be subject to such restrictions (if any) on transfer or other incidents of ownership for such periods of time, and shall be subject to such conditions of vesting, as the Committee may determine and as shall be set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.

(b) Distributions. Any shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company received by a Participant to whom a Stock Award has been granted as a result of a stock distribution to holders of Common Stock or as a stock dividend on Common Stock shall be subject to the same terms, conditions and restrictions as such Stock Award.

11. Restricted Stock Units

An Award of Restricted Stock Units shall consist of a grant of units, each of which represents the right of the Participant to receive one share of Common Stock, subject to the terms and conditions established by the Committee in connection with the Award and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. Upon satisfaction of the conditions to vesting and payment specified in the applicable Award Agreement, Restricted Stock Units will be payable in Common Stock or, if the Committee so determines, in cash, equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares subject to such Restricted Stock Units. Restricted Stock Units that are granted to an Eligible Individual in respect of corporate performance shall vest no sooner than one year from the date of grant, and Restricted Stock Units that are granted in connection with hiring or retention arrangements between the Company and a Participant shall vest no sooner than three years from the date of grant (subject, in either case, to early vesting, if so provided by the Committee, upon death, disability, termination of employment or a change in control of the Company).

12. Performance Units

Performance units may be granted as fixed or variable share- or dollar-denominated units subject to such conditions of vesting and time of payment as the Committee may determine and as shall be set forth in the applicable Award Agreement relating to such Performance Units. Performance Units may be paid in Common Stock, cash or a combination of Common Stock and cash, as the Committee may determine.

13. Other Awards

The Committee shall have the authority to specify the terms and provisions of other forms of equity-based or equity-related Awards not described above which the Committee determines to be consistent with the purpose of the Plan and the interests of the Company, which Awards may provide for cash payments based in whole or in part on the value or future value of Common Stock, for the acquisition or future acquisition of Common Stock, or any combination thereof. Other Awards shall also include cash payments

 

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(including the cash payment of dividend equivalents) under the Plan which may be based on one or more criteria determined by the Committee which are unrelated to the value of Common Stock and which may be granted in tandem with, or independent of, other Awards under the Plan.

14. Certain Restrictions

(a) Transfers. Unless the Committee determines otherwise, no Award shall be transferable other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution or pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; provided, however, that the Committee may, in its discretion and subject to such terms and conditions as it shall specify, permit the transfer of an Award for no consideration to a Participant’s family members or to one or more trusts or partnerships established in whole or in part for the benefit of one or more of such family members (collectively, “Permitted Transferees”). Any Award transferred to a Permitted Transferee shall be further transferable only by will or the laws of descent and distribution or, for no consideration, to another Permitted Transferee of the Participant. The Committee may in its discretion permit transfers of Awards other than those contemplated by this Section.

(b) Exercise. During the lifetime of the Participant, a Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right or similar-type Other Award shall be exercisable only by the Participant or by a Permitted Transferee to whom such Stock Option, Stock Appreciation Right or Other Award has been transferred in accordance with Section 14(a).

15. Recapitalization or Reorganization

(a) Authority of the Company and Stockholders. The existence of the Plan, the Award Agreements and the Awards granted hereunder shall not affect or restrict in any way the right or power of the Company or the stockholders of the Company to make or authorize any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization or other change in the Company’s capital structure or its business, any merger or consolidation of the Company, any issue of stock or of options, warrants or rights to purchase stock or of bonds, debentures, preferred or prior preference stocks whose rights are superior to or affect the Common Stock or the rights thereof or which are convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, or the dissolution or liquidation of the Company, or any sale or transfer of all or any part of its assets or business, or any other corporate act or proceeding, whether of a similar character or otherwise.

(b) Change in Capitalization. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan or any Award Agreement, the number and kind of shares authorized for issuance under Section 5(a) above, including the maximum number of shares available under the special limits provided for in Section 5(c) above, shall be equitably adjusted by the Committee in the event of a stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, extraordinary dividend, split-up, spin-off, combination, exchange of shares, warrants or rights offering to purchase Common Stock at a price substantially below Fair Market Value or other similar corporate event affecting the Common Stock in order to preserve, but not increase, the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan. In addition, upon the occurrence of any of the foregoing events, the number of outstanding Awards and the number and kind of shares subject to any outstanding Award and the purchase price per share, if any, under any outstanding Award shall be equitably adjusted (including by payment of cash to a Participant) in the sole discretion of the Committee in order to preserve the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available to Participants granted Awards. All adjustments provided for in this Section 15(b) shall be made by the Committee, whose determination as to what adjustments shall be made, and the extent thereof, shall be final. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, such adjusted Awards shall be subject to the same vesting schedule and restrictions to which the underlying Award is subject.

 

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16. Amendments

The Board or Committee may at any time and from time to time alter, amend, suspend or amend the Plan in whole or in part; provided, however, that any amendment which under the requirements of any applicable law or stock exchange rule must be approved by the stockholders of the Company shall not be effective unless and until such stockholder approval has been obtained in compliance with such law or rule; and provided further, that, except as contemplated by Section 15(b) above, the Board or Committee may not, without the approval of the Company’s stockholders, increase the maximum number of shares issuable under the Plan or reduce the exercise price of a Stock Option or Stock Appreciation Right. No termination or amendment of the Plan may, without the consent of the Participant to whom an Award has been granted, adversely affect the rights of such Participant under such Award. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, the Board or Committee shall have broad authority to amend the Plan or any Award under the Plan to take into account changes in applicable tax laws, securities laws, accounting rules and other applicable state and federal laws.

17. Miscellaneous

(a) Tax Withholding. The Company may require any individual entitled to receive a payment in respect of an Award to remit to the Company, prior to such payment, an amount sufficient to satisfy any Federal, state or local tax withholding requirements. The Company shall also have the right to deduct from all cash payments made pursuant to or in connection with any Award any Federal, state or local taxes required to be withheld with respect to such payments. The Company will not exercise this right in circumstances where the participant’s employment is located outside of the United States at the time of exercise or settlement, the participant is subject to income tax in that foreign jurisdiction, and there is no legal requirement on the Company to withhold tax and remit it to the revenue authority in that foreign jurisdiction. In the case of an Award payable in shares of Common Stock, the Company may permit such individual to satisfy, in whole or in part, such obligation to remit taxes by directing the Company to withhold shares of Common Stock that would otherwise be received by such individual, pursuant to such rules as the Committee may establish from time to time.

(b) No Right to Grants or Employment. No Eligible Individual or Participant shall have any claim or right to receive grants of Awards under the Plan. Nothing in the Plan or in any Award or Award Agreement shall confer upon any employee of the Company any right to continued employment with the Company or interfere in any way with the right of the Company to terminate the employment of any of its employees at any time, with or without cause.

(c) Other Compensation. Nothing in this Plan shall preclude or limit the ability of the Company to pay any compensation to a Participant under the Company’s other compensation and benefit plans and programs.

(d) Other Employee Benefit Plans. Payments received by a Participant under any Award made pursuant to the Plan shall not be included in, nor have any effect on, the determination of benefits under any other employee benefit plan or similar arrangement provided by the Company, unless otherwise specifically provided for under the terms of such plan or arrangement or by the Committee.

(e) Unfunded Plan. The Plan is intended to constitute an unfunded plan for incentive compensation. Prior to the payment or settlement of any Award, nothing contained herein shall give any Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the Company. In its sole discretion, the Committee may authorize the creation of trusts or other arrangements to meet the obligations created under the Plan to deliver Common Stock or payments in lieu thereof with respect to Awards hereunder.

(f) Securities Law Restrictions. The Committee may require each Eligible Individual purchasing or acquiring shares of Common Stock pursuant to a Stock Option or other Award under the Plan to represent

 

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to and agree with the Company in writing that such Eligible Individual is acquiring the shares for investment and not with a view to the distribution thereof. All certificates for shares of Common Stock delivered under the Plan shall be subject to such stock-transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee may deem advisable under the rules, regulations, and other requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any exchange upon which the Common Stock is then listed, and any applicable federal or state securities law, and the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be put on any such certificates to make appropriate reference to such restrictions. No shares of Common Stock shall be issued hereunder unless the Company shall have determined that such issuance is in compliance with, or pursuant to an exemption from, all applicable federal and state securities laws.

(g) Compliance with Rule 16b-3. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Plan or in any Award Agreement to the contrary, if the consummation of any transaction under the Plan would result in the possible imposition of liability on a Participant pursuant to Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act, the Committee shall have the right, in its sole discretion, but shall not be obligated, to defer such transaction or the effectiveness of such action to the extent necessary to avoid such liability, but in no event for a period longer than six months.

(h) Award Agreement. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the Plan and any Award Agreement, the Plan shall govern, and the Award Agreement shall be interpreted to minimize or eliminate any such conflict or inconsistency.

(i) Expenses. The costs and expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company.

(j) Application of Funds. The proceeds received from the Company from the sale of Common Stock or other securities pursuant to Awards will be used for general corporate purposes.

(k) Applicable Law. Except as to matters of federal law, the Plan and all actions taken thereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware without giving effect to conflicts of law principles.

 

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EX-10.39 3 dex1039.htm AMBAC FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. 1997 DIRECTOR'S EQUITY PLAN Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 1997 Director's Equity Plan

EXHIBIT 10.39

AMBAC FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

1997 NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS EQUITY PLAN

(as amended through October 24, 2006)

1. Purpose

The purpose of the Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 1997 Non-Employee Directors Equity Plan (the “Plan”) is to promote the long-term growth and financial success of the Company by attracting, motivating and retaining non-employee directors of outstanding ability and assisting the Company in promoting a greater identity of interest between the Company’s non-employee directors and its stockholders.

The Plan replaces the AMBAC Inc. 1991 Non-Employee Directors Stock Plan (the “Predecessor Plan”). From and after the effective date of the Plan as provided in Section 11 below, no further awards shall be made under the Predecessor Plan.

2. Definitions

For purposes of the Plan, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

“Annual Award” means an Award of Director Options (made in respect of Annual Meetings up to and including the 2003 Annual Meeting) or Director Annual Stock Units (made in respect of Annual Meetings beginning with the 2004 Annual Meeting), in each case as provided in Section 7 below.

“Annual Meeting” means an annual meeting of the Company’s stockholders.

“Award” means any or all (as the context requires) of Director Annual Stock Units, Director Five-Year Stock Units and Director Options.

“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

“Change in Control” means:

(i) the acquisition by any Person of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of 20% or more of the Common Stock then outstanding, but shall not include any such acquisition by:

(A) the Company;

(B) any Subsidiary of the Company;

(C) any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company;

(D) any Person or entity organized, appointed or established by the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan;

(E) any Person who as of January 31, 1996 was the beneficial owner of 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock outstanding on such date unless and until such Person, together with all affiliates and associates of such Person, becomes the beneficial owner of 25% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding whereupon a Change in Control shall be deemed to have occurred; or


(F) any Person who becomes the beneficial owner of 20% or more, or, with respect to a Person described in clause (E) above, 25% or more, of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding as a result of a reduction in the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding due to the repurchase of shares of Common Stock by the Company unless and until such Person, after becoming aware that such Person has become the beneficial owner of 20% or more, or 25% or more, as the case may be, of the then outstanding shares of Common Stock, acquires beneficial ownership of additional shares of Common Stock representing 1% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, whereupon a Change in Control shall be deemed to have occurred or

(ii) individuals who, as of the date this Plan is approved by the Board, constitute the Board, and subsequently elected members of the Board whose election is approved or recommended by at least a majority of such current members or their successors whose election was so approved or recommended (other than any subsequently elected members whose initial assumption of office occurs as a result of an actual or threatened election contest with respect to the election or removal of directors or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents by or on behalf of a person other than the Board), cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of such Board; or

(iii) approval by the stockholders of the Company of (A) a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation, (B) the issuance of voting securities of the Company in connection with a merger or consolidation of the Company (or any Subsidiary) pursuant to applicable stock exchange requirements, or (C) sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or the acquisition of assets of another corporation (each, a “Business Combination”), unless, in each case, immediately following such Business Combination, all or substantially all of the individuals and entities who were the beneficial owners of the Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than 70% of the then outstanding shares of common stock and 70% of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, as the case may be, of the corporation resulting from such Business Combination (including, without limitation, a corporation which as a result of such transaction owns the Company or all or substantially all of the Company’s assets either directly or through one or more subsidiaries) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership, immediately prior to such Business Combination, of the Common Stock.

“Common Stock” means the Common Stock of the Company, par value $.01 per share, or such other class or kind of shares or other securities as may be applicable under Section 13 below.

“Company” means Ambac Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, or any successor to substantially all its business.

“Director Account” means the bookkeeping record established for each Non-Employee Director. A Director Account is established only for purposes of measuring the value of the Company’s obligation to a Non-Employee Director in respect of Director Stock Units and earnings thereon and not to segregate assets or to identify assets that may be used to settle Director Stock Units.

“Director Annual Stock Unit” means a restricted stock unit granted to a Non-Employee Director pursuant to Section 7 hereof.

“Director Five-Year Stock Unit” means a restricted stock unit granted to a Non-Employee Director pursuant to Section 6 hereof.

“Director Option” means a right to purchase shares of Common Stock granted to a Non-Employee Director pursuant to Section 7 hereof.

 

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“Director Stock Unit” means either a Director Five-Year Stock Unit or a Director Annual Stock Unit. A Director Stock Unit shall represent the right to receive one share of Common Stock upon satisfaction of the conditions to vesting and settlement specified in the Plan. Director Stock Units shall be settled exclusively in Common Stock.

“Effective Date” means the effective date of the Plan provided for in Section 11 below.

“Fair Market Value” means the average of the highest and the lowest quoted selling price of Common Stock as reported on the composite tape for securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange on the applicable valuation date or, if there were no sales on such valuation date, the average of the highest and the lowest quoted selling prices on said composite tape for the preceding business day.

“Non-Employee Director” means a member of the Board who is not an employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

“Permanent Disability” means a physical or mental impairment rendering a Non-Employee Director substantially unable to function as a member of the Board for any period of six consecutive months. Any dispute as to whether a Non-Employee Director is Permanently Disabled shall be resolved by a physician mutually acceptable to the Non-Employee Director and the Company, whose decision shall be final and binding upon the Non-Employee Director and the Company.

“Person” means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership or other entity.

“Predecessor Plan” has the meaning set forth in Section 1 above.

“Subsidiary” means (i) a corporation or other entity with respect to which the Company, directly or indirectly, has the power, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise, to elect at least a majority of the members of such corporation’s board of directors or analogous governing body, or (ii) any other corporation or other entity in which the Company, directly or indirectly, has an equity or similar interest and which the Committee designates as a Subsidiary for purposes of the Plan.

3. Administration

(a) Administration by the Board. The Plan shall be administered by the Board, which may adopt rules and regulations it considers necessary or appropriate to carry out the Plan’s purposes. The Board’s interpretation and construction of any Plan provision shall be final and conclusive. The Board may, but need not, from time to time delegate some or all of its authority under the Plan to a committee consisting of one or more members of the Board, any such delegation to be subject to the restrictions and limits that the Board specifies at the time of such delegation or thereafter. References in the Plan to the “Board” shall, to the extent consistent with the terms and limitations of any such delegation, be deemed to include a reference to any such committee to which the Board’s authority hereunder has been delegated.

(b) Award Certificate. The terms and conditions of each grant of Director Stock Units and Director Options under the Plan shall be embodied in an award agreement or award certificate which shall incorporate the Plan by reference, shall indicate the date on which the Director Stock Units or Director Options were granted and the number of Director Stock Units or Director Options granted on such date.

 

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4. Shares Available

Subject to the provisions of Section 13 below, the maximum number of shares of Common Stock which may be issued under the Plan (the “Section 4 Limit”) shall be 360,000 shares plus the number of shares of Common Stock that remain available for issuance under the Predecessor Plan as of the date the Plan is approved by the stockholders of the Company (increased by any shares of Common Stock subject to any Award (or portion thereof) outstanding under the Predecessor Plan on such date which lapses, expires or is otherwise terminated without the issuance of such shares or is settled by the delivery of consideration other than shares). Subject to Section 13 below, of the shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan, no more than 225,000 shares may be issued upon settlement of Director Stock Units. For purposes of determining the number of shares of Common Stock that remain available for issuance, there shall be added back to the Section 4 Limit and again be available under the Plan any shares of Common Stock tendered to pay the exercise price of a Director Option. Either authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock or treasury shares may be delivered pursuant to the Plan.

5. Eligibility

Director Stock Units and Director Options shall be granted only to Non-Employee Directors.

6. Director Five-Year Stock Units

(a) Grants of Director Five-Year Stock Units. Director Five-Year Stock Units shall be awarded under the Plan as follows:

(i) On the date of the Annual Meeting coincident with or first succeeding a Non-Employee Director’s initial election to the Board (or re-election to the Board after a period during which the Non-Employee Director did not serve on the Board), the Non-Employee Director shall receive a grant of a number of Director Five-Year Stock Units calculated by dividing (x) $210,000, by (y) the Fair Market Value of one share of Common Stock on the date of the relevant Annual Meeting.

(ii) As of the date of the Annual Meeting that is closest in time to the applicable vesting date of any Director Five-Year Stock Units in accordance with Section 6(b)(i) below, or the vesting date of any restricted shares under the Predecessor Plan in accordance with Section 6(c)(i) thereof, a Non-Employee Director shall receive an additional grant of Director Five-Year Stock Units (an “Additional Grant”), provided that (A) the Annual Meeting as of which the Additional Grant is to be made occurs during the term of the Plan as set forth in Section 11 below, and (B) the Non-Employee Director is standing for re-election at such Annual Meeting. The number of Director Five-Year Stock Units included in such Additional Grant shall be calculated by dividing (x) $210,000, by (y) the Fair Market Value of one share of Common Stock on the date of the relevant Annual Meeting in connection with which the Additional Grant is made.

(b) Vesting; Accelerated Vesting; Deferral.

(i) Director Five-Year Stock Units granted in respect of a given Annual Meeting, and any additional Director Five-Year Stock Units credited to a Director Account in respect of earnings or other distributions on such Director Five-Year Stock Units as provided in Section 6(c), shall vest on the fifth anniversary of the date of grant and shall be settled as soon as practicable thereafter, provided that the Non-Employee Director shall have remained a member of the Board continuously from the date of grant until the earlier of (A) such fifth anniversary or (B) if the Non-Employee Director declines to stand for re-election to the Board at the Annual Meeting held in the fifth calendar year following the date of grant, the date of such Annual Meeting.

 

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(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(b)(i) above, all Director Five-Year Stock Units granted to a Non-Employee Director shall immediately vest upon the first to occur of (A) a Non-Employee Director ceasing to be a member of the Board as a result of retirement from the Board in accordance with the retirement policy then applicable to Board members, (B) a Non-Employee Director ceasing to be a member of the Board as a result of death or Permanent Disability or (C) subject to the following sentence, a Change in Control of the Company, and shall be settled as soon as practicable thereafter. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if any Person commences a tender offer for shares of Common Stock which, if successfully completed, would result in a Change in Control, then all Director Five-Year Stock Units granted to a Non-Employee Director shall vest and be settled immediately prior to the scheduled expiration of such tender offer, and the Company shall have instituted procedures to enable the Non-Employee Director, if he so desires, to tender the shares issued upon settlement of such Director Five-Year Stock Units into such offer.

(c) Forfeiture of Grant. Except as provided in Section 6(b)(ii) above, all Director Five-Year Stock Units shall be forfeited, and all rights of the Non-Employee Director to or with respect to such Director Stock Units shall terminate without any obligation on the part of the Company, upon the termination of a Non-Employee Director’s service as a member of the Board prior to the date on which such Director Five-Year Stock Units vest in accordance with Section 6(b)(i) above.

7. Annual Awards

(a) General. As of the date of each Annual Meeting, commencing with the 1997 Annual Meeting, each Non-Employee Director shall automatically receive an Award of Director Options or Director Annual Stock Units as provided in this Section 7. A Director Option shall entitle a Non-Employee Director to purchase a specified number of shares of Common Stock during a specified period at an exercise price per share of Common Stock determined as provided below. All Director Options provided for herein shall have the general terms and conditions set forth in Section 9 below.

(b) Grants of Director Options. As of the date of each Annual Meeting, commencing with the 1997 Annual Meeting, each Non-Employee Director shall automatically receive Director Options to purchase 3,750 shares of Common Stock provided that the Non-Employee Director shall continue to serve as a director of the Company after such Annual Meeting, provided, however, that beginning with the 2004 Annual Meeting, no further Awards of Director Options shall be made. The exercise price per share of Common Stock of each Director Option provided for in this Section 7(b) shall be the Fair Market Value of one share of Common Stock on the date of the relevant Annual Meeting.

(c) Grants of Director Annual Stock Units. As of the date of each Annual Meeting, commencing with the 2004 Annual Meeting, each Non-Employee Director shall automatically receive a number of Director Annual Stock Units determined by dividing (i) $60,000 by (ii) the Fair Market Value of one share of Common Stock on the date of the relevant Annual Meeting.

(d) Grants to New Directors. A Non-Employee Director who is initially elected or appointed to the Board other than in connection with an Annual Meeting shall receive, as of the date of such initial election or appointment, (i) if such appointment is made prior to the 2004 Annual Meeting, Director Options to purchase a number of shares determined by multiplying 3,750 by a fraction (the “Proration Fraction”), the numerator of which is the number of full months remaining until the next Annual Meeting (starting with the month following the date of election or appointment and counting the month in which the next Annual Meeting is scheduled to occur as a full month) and the denominator of which is 12 and (ii) if such appointment is made after the 2004 Annual Meeting, a number of Director Annual Stock Units calculated by multiplying (x) the number of Director Annual Stock Units that were awarded to each Non-Employee Director in connection with the immediately preceding Annual Meeting, times

 

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(y) the Proration Fraction. (If the date of the next Annual Meeting has not been scheduled at the time of the Non-Employee Director’s initial election or appointment, it shall be assumed that the next Annual Meeting will occur in the same month as the immediately preceding Annual Meeting.) The exercise price per share of Common Stock of each Director Option provided for in this Section 7(d) shall be the Fair Market Value of one share of Common Stock on the date of the Non-Employee Director’s election or appointment to the Board.

(e) Vesting. Annual Awards shall vest as of the first anniversary of the date of grant, assuming that the Non-Employee Director has continued to serve as a member of the Board until the earlier of (A) such first anniversary or (B) if the Non-Employee Director declines to stand for reelection to the Board at the Annual Meeting held in the calendar year following the date of grant, the date of such Annual Meeting. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, all Annual Awards shall be considered fully vested upon the earlier to occur of (X) termination of the Non-Employee Director’s service on the Board by reason of death or Permanent Disability or (Y) a Change in Control, provided, however, that if any Person commences a tender offer for shares of Common Stock which, if successfully completed, would result in a Change in Control, then all Annual Awards granted to a Non-Employee Director shall vest and, in the case of Director Annual Stock Units, be settled, immediately prior to the scheduled expiration of such tender offer, and the Company shall have instituted procedures to enable the Non-Employee Director, if he so desires, to tender the shares issued upon the exercise of Director Options or upon the settlement of Director Annual Stock Units into such offer.

8. General Terms and Conditions of Director Stock Units

(a) Accounts. As of any date as of which a Non-Employee Director is granted Director Stock Units, the Director Account of such Non-Employee Director will be credited with the number of Director Stock Units so granted. In the event that the Company pays any cash or other dividend or makes any other distribution in respect of the Common Stock, each Director Account will be credited with an additional number of Director Stock Units (including fractions thereof) determined by dividing (A) the amount of cash, or the value (as determined by the Board) of any securities or other property, paid or distributed in respect of one outstanding share of Common Stock by (B) the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock for the date of such payment or distribution, and multiplying the result of such division by (C) the number of Director Stock Units that were credited to the Director Account immediately prior to the date of the dividend or other distribution. Credits shall be made effective as of the date of the dividend or other distribution in respect of the Common Stock.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 6(b)(i), 6(b)(ii) and 7(e) above, a Non-Employee Director may elect to defer settlement of any or all Director Stock Units to a date subsequent to the vesting date of such Director Stock Units, provided that no such deferral may extend beyond the earlier of (i) the Non-Employee Director’s termination of service on the Board or (ii) the Non-Employee’s death. Settlement of any deferred Director Stock Units shall be made on or as soon as practicable following the date specified by the Non-Employee Director in the relevant deferral election or, if applicable, the earlier of the dates specified in clauses (i) and (ii) of the preceding sentence.

(c) Delivery of Share Certificates. As soon as practicable following the vesting of Director Stock Units as provided in Sections 6(b)(i), 6(b)(ii) or 7(e) above, or the date for deferred settlement as provided in Section 8(b) above, Director Stock Units shall be settled either by: (i) delivery to the Non-Employee Director of a share certificate for the number of shares corresponding to such Director Stock Units (any fractional Director Stock Unit shall be rounded up to the next whole Director Stock Unit) or (ii) the transfer of the corresponding number of shares equal to the number of Director Stock Units being settled (any fractional Director Stock Unit shall be rounded up to the next whole Director Stock Unit) to the brokerage account designated by the Non-Employee Director to the Company in writing prior to settlement. Shares delivered in settlement of Director Stock Units shall be free of all such restrictions, except any that may be imposed under applicable law or the Company’s trading policy.

 

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(d) No Stockholder Rights. The crediting of Director Stock Units to a Director Account shall not confer on the relevant Non-Employee Director any rights as a stockholder of the Company.

9. General Terms and Conditions Director Options

(a) Option Term. Each Director Option shall expire on the date of the Annual Meeting held in the seventh calendar year following the date of grant, subject to earlier expiration as provided herein, provided, however, that Director Options granted to a Non-Employee Director whose initial election occurs other than in connection with an Annual Meeting shall be treated for this purpose as though they had been granted at the first Annual Meeting following such initial election.

(b) Vesting; Accelerated Vesting; Effect of Termination of Service.

(i) Exercisability. Director Options shall become exercisable upon vesting.

(ii) Exercise Following Termination of Service. Following termination of a Non-Employee Director’s service on the Board, the former Non-Employee Director (or the former Non-Employee Directors’ estate, personal representative or beneficiary, as the case may be) shall have the right, subject to the other terms and conditions hereof, to exercise all Director Options that had vested as of or in connection with the termination of service:

(A) at any time within three years after the date of termination of service, if such termination was by reason of death, Permanent Disability or retirement from the Board in accordance with the retirement policy then in effect for Board members, or

(B) in all other cases, at any time within one year after the date of termination of service; subject, in all case, to earlier expiration of the Director Option pursuant to Section 9(a) above.

(c) Notice of Exercise. Subject to the other terms and conditions of the Plan, a Non-Employee Director may exercise all or any portion of a vested Director Option by giving written notice of exercise to the Company or its designated agent, provided, however, that no fewer than 10 shares of Common Stock may be purchased upon any exercise of a Director Option unless the number of shares purchased at such time is the total number of shares in respect of which the Director Option is then exercisable, and provided, further, that in no event shall the Option be exercisable for a fractional share. The date of exercise of an Option shall be the later of (i) the date on which the Company or its agent receives such written notice or (ii) the date on which the conditions provided in Sections 9(d) and 9(e) below are satisfied.

(d) Payment. The exercise price of a Director Option may be paid in cash or previously owned shares or a combination thereof or by any other method approved by the Board.

(e) Limitation on Exercise. A Director Option shall not be exercisable unless the Common Stock subject thereto has been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and qualified under applicable state “blue sky” laws in connection with the offer and sale thereof, or the Company has determined that an exemption from registration under the 1933 Act and from qualification under such state “blue sky” laws is available.

(f) Issuance of Shares. Subject to the foregoing conditions, as soon as is reasonably practicable after its receipt of a proper notice of exercise and payment of the exercise price for the number of shares with respect to which a Director Option is exercised, the Company shall deliver to the exercising Non-Employee Director, at the principal office of the Company or at such other location as may be acceptable to the Company and the Non-Employee Director, one or more stock certificates for the appropriate number of shares of Common Stock issued in connection with such exercise. Such shares shall be fully paid and nonassessable and shall be issued in the name of the Non-Employee Director. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board in its discretion may, subject to rules and procedures as it may adopt or impose from time to time, provide Non-Employee Directors with the opportunity to defer receipt of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of Director Options.

 

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10. Transferability

Director Stock Units (including interests in a Director Account) and Director Options may not be transferred, pledged, assigned or otherwise disposed of except by will or the laws of descent and distribution or pursuant to a domestic relations order, provided, however, that Director Options may be transferred to a member or members of a Non-Employee Director’s immediate family (as defined below) or to one or more trusts or partnerships established in whole or in part for the benefit of one or more of such immediate family members (collectively as “Permitted Transferees”), subject to such rules and procedures as may from time to time be adopted or imposed by the Board. If a Director Stock Option is transferred to a Permitted Transferee, it shall be further transferable only by will or the laws of descent and distribution or, for no consideration, to another Permitted Transferee of the Non-Employee Director. A Non-Employee Director shall notify the Company in writing prior to any proposed transfer of a Director Option to a Permitted Transferee and shall furnish the Company, upon request, with information concerning such Permitted Transferee’s financial condition and investment experience. For purposes of the Plan, a Non-Employee Director’s “immediate family” means any child, stepchild, grandchild, spouse, son-in-law or daughter-in-law and shall include adoptive relationships; provided, however, that if the Company adopts a different definition of “immediate family” (or similar term) in connection with the transferability of employee stock options awarded to employees of the Company, such definition shall apply, without further action of the Board, to the Plan.

11. Term

(a) Effective Date; Expiration. The Effective Date shall be the date of the 1997 Annual Meeting, assuming the Plan is approved by the stockholders of the Company at such Annual Meeting. Unless earlier terminated in accordance with Section 12 below, the Plan shall expire on the date of the Annual Meeting held in 2011. Grants of Director Five-Year Stock Units and Director Annual Stock Units shall be made in connection with the Annual Meeting held in 2011, and shall be the last grants made under the Plan. Expiration of the Plan in connection with the Annual Meeting held in 2011 shall not affect Awards made prior to such Annual Meeting, which Awards shall remain outstanding subject to the terms hereof.

(b) Coordination with Predecessor Plan. Awards of “Directors Shares” (as such term is defined in the Predecessor Plan) shall be made under the Predecessor Plan in connection with the 1997 Annual Meeting. Assuming the Plan is approved by the stockholders of the Company at the 1997 Annual Meeting, no further Awards shall be made under the Predecessor Plan after the Effective Date. Awards outstanding under the Predecessor Plan (including Awards made in connection with the 1997 Annual Meeting) shall remain outstanding after the Effective Date subject to the terms thereof.

12. Amendments

Subject to the requirements of section 13, the Board may at any time and from time to time alter, amend, suspend or terminate the Plan in whole of in part, including without limitation to amend the provisions for determining the amount of Director Stock Units or Directors Options to be issued to a Non-Employee Director, provided, however, that:

(i) any amendment which under the requirements of applicable law or stock exchange rule must be approved by the stockholders of the Company shall not be effective unless and until such stockholder approval has been obtained in compliance with such law or rule;

(ii) except as provided in Section 13 below, the Board may not, without the approval of the Company’s stockholders, increase the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan pursuant to Section 4 above or the number of Director Stock Units or Director Options to be issued to any Non-Employee Director pursuant to Section 6 or Section 7 above or reduce the exercise price of a Director Option.

 

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No termination or amendment of the Plan that would adversely affect a Non-Employee Director’s rights under the Plan with respect to any Award made prior to such action shall be effective as to such Non-Employee Director unless he or she consents thereto.

13. Adjustment of and Changes in Shares

In the event of any merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reclassification, stock dividend, distribution of property, special cash dividend or other change in corporate structure affecting the shares, the Board , shall make (i) such proportionate adjustments as it considers appropriate in the number and kind of shares authorized for issuance hereunder in order to preserve, but not increase, the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available hereunder and/or (ii) such other adjustments as it deems appropriate. The Board’s determination as to what, if any, adjustments shall be made shall be final and binding on the Company and all Non-Employee Directors who receive grants under the Plan.

14. No Right to Re-election

Nothing in the Plan shall be deemed to create any obligation on the part of the Board to nominate any of its members for re-election by the Company’s stockholders, nor confer upon any Non-Employee Director the right to remain a member of the Board for any period of time, or at any particular rate of compensation.

15. Governing Law

The Plan and all agreements entered into under the Plan shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware.

16. No Restriction on Right of Company to Effect Corporate Changes

The Plan shall not affect in any way the right or power of the Company or its stockholders to make or authorize any or all adjustments, recapitalizations, reorganizations or other changes in the Company’s capital structure or its business, or any merger or consolidation of the Company, or any issue of stock or of options, warrants or rights to purchase stock or of bonds, debentures, preferred or prior preference stocks whose rights are superior to or affect the Common Stock or the rights thereof or which are convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, or the dissolution or liquidation of the Company, or any sale or transfer of all or any part of its assets or business, or any other corporate act or proceeding, whether of a similar character or otherwise.

17. Unfunded Plan

The Plan is unfunded. Prior to the payment or settlement of any Award of Director Stock Units or the exercise of any Director Options, nothing contained herein shall give any non-Employee Director any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the Company. In its sole discretion, the Board may authorize the creation of trusts or other arrangements to meet the obligations created under the Plan to deliver Common Stock with respect to Awards hereunder.

 

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EX-10.40 4 dex1040.htm FORM OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AWARD Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award

EXHIBIT 10.40

AMBAC FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

1997 EQUITY PLAN

OCTOBER 2006 NOTICE OF AWARD OF LONG TERM

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION IN THE FORM OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS

Ambac Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation and its Subsidiaries (referred to herein as either the “Company” or “Ambac”), have adopted the Ambac 1997 Equity Plan (the “Plan”), for the purposes of providing an incentive to selected employees of the Company and its affiliates to remain in its employ and to increase their interest in the success of the Company. The Company pursues these goals by providing selected employees with opportunities through the Plan to increase their proprietary interest in the Company and to receive compensation based upon the Company’s success.

This 2006 Restricted Stock Unit notice of award (the “Notice of Award”) sets forth the terms and conditions of the restricted stock units that have been granted under the Plan to the individual identified on Annex A (the “Participant”). This Notice of Award sets forth the number of restricted stock units that the Participant will receive, the date of grant and the applicable vesting schedule.

 

1. Incorporation of Plan Terms.

This Notice of Award and the restricted stock units granted hereby are subject to the Plan, the terms of which are incorporated herein by reference. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between the Plan and this Notice of Award, the Plan shall govern. Capitalized terms used in this Notice of Award without definition shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Plan. A copy of the Plan is available on Ambac’s intranet site.

 

2. Grant of Restricted Stock Units.

Subject to the conditions contained herein and in the Plan, the Company grants to the Participant, as of the date of grant indicated on Annex A (the “Date of Grant”), the number of restricted stock units (the “RSUs”) specified on Annex A.


3. Terms and Conditions of the RSUs.

The RSUs shall have the following terms and conditions:

(a) General. Each RSU shall represent the unsecured promise of the Company to transfer to the Participant, on the settlement date of such RSU and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Notice of Award, one share of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”).

(b) Vesting.

 

  (i) Normal Vesting. The RSUs will ordinarily vest in accordance with the vesting schedule set forth on Annex A hereto.

 

  (ii) Accelerated Vesting. Notwithstanding Section 3(b)(i), any RSUs that have not previously vested shall vest in full upon the termination of the Participant’s employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries by reason of death, Permanent Disability or Retirement at age 55 or older after at least three years of continuous service with the Company and its Subsidiaries (including service within a corporation or other entity acquired by the Company). “Permanent Disability” shall mean circumstances that entitled the Participant to receive benefits under the long-term disability policy maintained by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for the participant.

 

  (iii) Forfeiture. Unless the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Committee”), in its sole discretion, determines otherwise, any RSUs that have not vested in accordance with this Section 3(b) shall be forfeited by the Participant upon the Participant’s termination of employment with the Company and its subsidiaries; provided, however, that a Participant’s RSUs may become vested as of the date of the Participant’s termination of employment if the termination of employment is mutually agreed to by the Participant and the Company, and the Participant (A) signs a waiver and release, in the form requested by the Company, irrevocably waiving any and all claims, liabilities and causes of action relating to the Participant’s employment with the Company and its affiliates and the termination thereof, (B) signs a noncompetition agreement in the form requested by the Company, and (C) takes any further action requested by the Company.

(c) Dividends and Distribution on Common Stock. In the event that, following the Date of Grant and prior to the settlement of any RSU, the Company pays any cash or other dividend or makes any other distribution in respect of the Common Stock, each RSU shall be credited with an additional number of RSUs (including fractions thereof) determined by dividing (i) the amount or cash, or the value (as determined by the Committee) of any other property, paid or distributed in respect of one outstanding share of Common Stock by (ii) the average of the


high and low selling price of the Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange for the date of such payment or distribution. Any RSUs so credited shall be subject to the same vesting provisions as the RSU in respect of which they are credited. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Notice of Award, the Participant shall have no right as a shareholder with respect to any RSUs until a certificate or certificates evidencing such shares shall have been issued to the Participant according to the terms of Section 3(d) below.

(d) Delivery of Share Certificates.

 

  (i) Ordinary Settlement. Settlement of any RSUs shall occur following the date on which such RSUs vest except that if the Committee elects to accelerate vesting pursuant to Section 3(b)(iii), such RSUs shall be settled after the normal vesting date as set forth in Annex A hereto. RSUs will be settled, at the election of the Participant, either by:

 

  (A) Delivery of a stock certificate or certificates representing the number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of RSUs being settled (any fractional RSU being rounded up to the next whole RSU). Certificates shall be issued in the name of the Participant (or of the person or persons to whom such RSUs were transferred by will or the laws of descent and distribution or pursuant to a Qualified Domestic Relations Order).

 

  (B) The transfer of the corresponding number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of RSUs being settled (or any fractional RSU being rounded up to the next whole RSU) to the brokerage account designated by the Participant to the Company in writing prior to settlement.

 

  (ii) Certain Exceptions Pursuant to Company Policy. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, settlement of a RSU shall not occur on a date on which the Company’s policies then in effect prohibit the Participant from engaging in transactions in the Company’s securities. Instead, settlement shall occur on, or as promptly as practicable following, the first date that the Participant is again permitted to engage in transactions in the Company’s securities under the Company policies.

 

  (iii) Payment Restrictions for Specified Employees. If the Participant is a “Specified Employee” within the meaning of Section 409A(a)(2)(B) of the Code, then, anything in this Notice of Award to the contrary not withstanding, no settlement of RSUs in connection with the Participant’s termination of employment (other than by reason of death) shall be made before the earlier to occur of (X) the date which is six months and one day following the date of such termination of employment and (Y) the date of the Participant’s death following termination of employment.


  (iv) Transfer Restrictions on Common Stock. Shares of Common Stock issued upon the settlement of RSUs will not be subject to restrictions on transfer (except for any restrictions imposed by the federal securities laws or other applicable laws or regulations and for any restrictions under the Company’s trading policies applicable to employees). However, shares of common stock issued upon settlement of RSUs granted at a discount to the Fair Market Value of Ambac stock on the date of grant will be subject to transfer restrictions until such time as the Eligible Individual meets and/or exceeds Ambac’s Stock Ownership Guidelines.

 

  (v) Normal Settlement and Deferral of Payment Subject to Section 162(m). Subject to the other terms and conditions of this Notice of Award and the terms of the Plan, Ambac shall settle RSUs on or as soon as practicable following the vesting date (the “Settlement Date”); provided, however, that to the extent that, as of the Settlement Date, Ambac reasonably anticipates that its federal tax deduction with respect to such settlement would be limited or eliminated by application of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any regulations thereunder (or under any successor provisions thereto) (the “Code”), then the settlement of the RSUs shall automatically be deferred until the earliest date at which Ambac reasonably anticipates that its deduction of the amount of the settlement will not be so limited or eliminated (it being understood that so many of such RSUs as can be settled on the Settlement Date without limiting or eliminating Ambac’s deduction will be settled on the Settlement Date and that any RSUs whose settlement is deferred past the Settlement Date shall be settled on one or more future dates as and to the extent that the conditions to settlement set forth in this sentence are satisfied).

(e) Transfer Restrictions on RSUs. RSUs may not be transferred, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution or pursuant to a Qualified Domestic Relations Order.

(f) Immediate Cancellation of RSUs and Return of Share Value. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Notice of Award, the Committee may (i) cancel all or any portion of the RSUs then outstanding (whether or not then vested and whether or not subject to a deferred settlement election) and (ii) may require the Participant to repay to the Company all or any portion of the Share Value (as hereinafter defined) that the Participant realizes from the settlement of RSUs occurring within six months before or after the Participant’s termination of employment for any reason with the Company and its Subsidiaries, if the Participant engages in Competitive Activity (as defined herein) within six months following termination of such employment. The Participant will be considered to engage in “Competitive Activity” if the Participant (1) enters into a relationship as an employee, officer, partner, member, director, independent contractor, consultant, advisor, or agent of, or in any similar relationship with, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture or other business entity that engages in any activity which the Committee determines to be competitive with a principal business activity of the Company (a “Competitor”), where the Participant will be responsible for providing services which are similar or substantially related to the services that


the Participant provided during any of the last three years of the Participant’s employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries or (2) either alone, or in concert with others, acquires or maintains beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) of 5% or more of any class of equity securities of a Competitor. For purposes hereof, “Share Value” in respect of an RSU means a cash amount equal to the amount of income included (or to be included) in respect of the settlement of such RSU on the Form W-2 (or successor form) that the Company or one of its Subsidiaries issues to the Participant for the year in which such settlement occurs. If the Participant is required to repay any Share Value to the Company pursuant to this Section 3(f), the Participant shall pay such amount in such manner and on such terms and conditions as the Company may require, and the Company shall be entitled to withhold or set-off against any other amount owed to the Participant by the Company or its Subsidiaries (other than any amount owed to the Participant under any retirement plan intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code) up to an amount sufficient to satisfy the unpaid obligation of the Participant under this Section 3(f).

(g) Cancellation for Specified Activity. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Notice of Award, the Committee may cancel all or any portion of the RSUs then outstanding (whether or not vested) if at any time the Participant initiates or becomes a party to any lawsuit or other legal action in any federal or state court in which the Participant seeks damages or injunctive or other equitable relief from or against the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of its officers, employees or directors in connection with any claim arising from or relating to the Participant’s employment with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or the termination of such employment (and regardless of whether any such termination is the result of the Participant’s voluntary resignation or retirement or of the involuntary termination of the Participant’s employment by the Company or one of its subsidiaries). This Section 3(g) is not intended as a waiver by the Participant of any claims the Participant may have against the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of its officers, employees or directors. Instead, it provides for the consequences specified in the second preceding sentence in the event the Participant engages in the conduct described therein.

 

4. Tax Withholding.

(a) Prior to either the transfer of shares of Common Stock to the Participant’s brokerage account or the delivery of any certificates evidencing shares of Common Stock to be issued in connection with the full or partial settlement of the RSUs, the Company shall have the right to require the Participant to remit to the Company an amount sufficient to satisfy the minimum Federal, State and local tax withholding requirements. The Company may permit the Participant to satisfy this obligation, in whole or in part, by directing the Company to withhold shares of Common Stock that would otherwise be received by the Participant, pursuant to such rules as the Committee may establish from time to time

(b) Upon vesting of any portion of the RSUs, the Participant shall be required to satisfy, within 30 days of vesting, all Social Security and Medicare taxes due upon vesting. The Participant must submit a check or money order, payable to Ambac Financial Group, Inc., to Ambac’s Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officers or his or her designee.


5. No Restriction on Right to Effect Corporate Changes; No Right to Continued Employment.

(a) Neither the Plan, this Notice of Award, the grant of the RSUs nor any action taken hereunder shall affect in any way the right or power of the Company or its stockholders to make or authorize any or all adjustments, recapitalizations, reorganizations or other changes in the Company’s capital structure or its business, or any merger or consolidation of the Company, or any issue of bonds, debentures, preferred or prior preference stocks ahead of or convertible into, or otherwise affecting the Common Stock or the rights thereof, or the dissolution or liquidation of the Company, or any sale or transfer of all or any part of its assets or business, or any other corporate act or proceeding, whether of a similar character or otherwise.

(b) This Notice of Award is not an employment agreement. Nothing in this Notice of Award or the Plan, or the granting to the Participant of the RSUs, shall alter the Participant’s status as an “at-will” employee of the Company or be construed as guaranteeing employment by, or as giving the Participant any right to continue in the employ of, the Company or any of its subsidiaries during any period (including without limitation the period between the Date of Grant and the settlement date of any RSUs, or any portion thereof), or as limiting or restricting the right of the Company to terminate the Participant’s employment at any time, for any reason, with or without cause.

 

6. Adjustment of and Changes in Shares.

In the event of any merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reclassification, stock dividend, special cash dividend, or other change in corporate structure affecting the Common Stock, the Committee shall make such adjustments, if any, as it deems appropriate in the number and class of shares subject to the RSUs. Any adjustments shall be determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

 

7. Preemption of Applicable Laws and Regulations.

Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, if, at any time specified herein for the issuance of shares of Common Stock to the Participant, any law, regulation or requirement of any governmental authority having jurisdiction requires either the Company or the Participant to take any action in connection with the shares then to be issued, the issuance of such shares shall be deferred until such action shall have been taken.

 

8. Committee Decisions Final.

Any dispute or disagreement which shall rise under, or as a result of, or pursuant to, or in connection with, this Notice of Award shall be determined by the Committee, and any such determination or any other determination by the Committee under or pursuant to this Notice of Award and any interpretation by the Committee of the terms hereof shall be final and binding on all persons affected thereby.


9. Amendments.

The Committee shall have the power to alter or amend the terms of the RSUs as set forth herein, from time to time, in any manner consistent with the Plan; provided, however, that no amendment will be made that is inconsistent with the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. Any alteration or amendment of the terms of the RSUs by the Committee shall, upon adoption, become and be binding on all persons affected thereby without requirement for consent or other action with respect thereto by any such person. The Committee shall give written notice to the Participant of any such alteration or amendment as promptly as practicable after it is adopted. The foregoing shall not restrict the ability of the Participant and the Company by mutual consent to alter or amend the terms of the RSUs in any manner which is consistent with the Plan and approved by the Committee. Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, the Committee may amend or terminate the Plan, without the consent of any Participant, to the extent it deems necessary or desirable to comply with the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.

 

10. Notice Requirements.

Any notice which either party hereto may be required or permitted to give to the other shall be in writing. Notice may be delivered to the Company personally or by mail, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Ambac Financial Group, Inc., One State Street Plaza, New York, New York 10004, attention: Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Employment Counsel, or at such other address as the Company, by notice to the Participant, may designate in writing from time to time. Notice to the Participant shall be directed either to the Participant’s address as shown on the records of the Company or at such other address as the Participant, by notice to the Company, may designate in writing from time to time or to the Participant by a combination of interoffice mail and email.

 

11. Governing Law.

The terms and conditions stated herein are to be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware.

 

12. Entire Agreement; Headings.

This Notice of Award (which includes Annex A) and the other related documents expressly referred to herein set forth the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto and supersede all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. The headings of Sections and subsections herein are included solely for convenience of reference and shall not affect the meaning of any of the provisions of this Notice of Award.

EX-31.1 5 dex311.htm SECTION 302 CEO CERTIFICATION Section 302 CEO Certification

EXHIBIT 31.1

Ambac Financial Group, Inc.

Certifications

I, Robert J. Genader, certify that:

 

  1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ambac Financial Group, Inc;

 

  2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

  3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

  4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a - -15(e) and 15d – 15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

  a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

  b. Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

  c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

  d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

  5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent function):

 

  a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and


  b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

By:  

/s/ Robert J. Genader

  Robert J. Genader
 

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Date: November 8, 2006

EX-31.2 6 dex312.htm SECTION 302 CFO CERTIFICATION Section 302 CFO Certification

EXHIBIT 31.2

Ambac Financial Group, Inc.

Certifications

I, Sean T. Leonard, certify that:

 

  1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ambac Financial Group, Inc;

 

  2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

  3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

  4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a - -15(e) and 15d – 15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

  a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

  b. Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

  c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

  d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

  5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent function):

 

  a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and


  b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

By:  

/s/ Sean T. Leonard

  Sean T. Leonard
  Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Date: November 8, 2006

EX-32.1 7 dex321.htm SECTION 906 CEO CERTIFICATION Section 906 CEO Certification

EXHIBIT 32.1

Certification of CEO Pursuant to

18 U.S.C. Section 1350,

as Adopted Pursuant to

Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (the “Company”) for the period ended September 30, 2006, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), Robert J. Genader, as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, hereby certifies, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of his knowledge:

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ Robert J. Genader

Name:   Robert J. Genader
Title:  

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Date:   November 8, 2006
EX-32.2 8 dex322.htm SECTION 906 CFO CERTIFICATION Section 906 CFO Certification

EXHIBIT 32.2

Certification of CFO Pursuant to

18 U.S.C. Section 1350,

as Adopted Pursuant to

Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (the “Company”) for the period ended September 30, 2006, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), Sean T. Leonard, as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, hereby certifies, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of his knowledge:

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ Sean T. Leonard

Name:   Sean T. Leonard
Title:   Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Date:   November 8, 2006
EX-99.11 9 dex9911.htm AMBAC ASSURANCE CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED UNAUDITED FIN. STMTS. Ambac Assurance Corp. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Unaudited Fin. Stmts.

EXHIBIT 99.11

AMBAC ASSURANCE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

(a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group, Inc.)

Consolidated Unaudited Financial Statements

As of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005

and for the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

 


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005

(Dollars in Thousands Except Share Data)

 

     September 30, 2006    December 31, 2005
     (unaudited)     

ASSETS

     

Investments:

     

Fixed income securities, at fair value (amortized cost of $9,884,495 in 2006 and $8,940,769 in 2005)

   $ 10,100,217    $ 9,153,354

Short-term investments, at cost (approximates fair value)

     176,364      406,530

Other (cost of $97,934 in 2006 and $13,025 in 2005)

     98,531      13,308
             

Total investments

     10,375,112      9,573,192

Cash

     34,741      21,145

Securities purchased under agreements to resell

     34,000      97,000

Receivable for securities sold

     1,050      1,269

Investment income due and accrued

     119,459      120,771

Reinsurance recoverable on paid and unpaid losses

     5,292      3,730

Prepaid reinsurance

     311,564      303,383

Deferred acquisition costs

     220,252      202,195

Derivative assets

     1,125,010      1,101,948

Loans

     582,816      681,625

Other assets

     94,382      140,751
             

Total assets

   $ 12,903,678    $ 12,247,009
             

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

     

Liabilities:

     

Unearned premiums

   $ 3,039,663    $ 2,966,426

Loss and loss expense reserves

     279,614      304,139

Ceded reinsurance balances payable

     16,963      23,746

Obligations under payment agreements

     248,560      248,760

Long-term debt

     1,021,516      1,041,848

Deferred income taxes

     201,444      201,043

Current income taxes

     57,848      31,468

Payable for securities purchased

     6,588      11,641

Derivative liabilities

     1,025,935      1,007,731

Other liabilities

     240,047      239,152
             

Total liabilities

     6,138,178      6,075,954
             

Stockholder’s equity:

     

Preferred stock, par value $1,000 per share; authorized shares—285,000; issued and outstanding shares—none

     —        —  

Common stock, par value $2.50 per share; authorized shares—40,000,000; issued and outstanding shares—32,800,000 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005

     82,000      82,000

Additional paid-in capital

     1,475,765      1,453,060

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     144,242      136,897

Retained earnings

     5,063,493      4,499,098
             

Total stockholder’s equity

     6,765,500      6,171,055
             

Total liabilities and stockholder’s equity

   $ 12,903,678    $ 12,247,009
             

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Unaudited Financial Statements.

 

2


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

For The Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2006       2005       2006       2005  
                                

Revenues:

        

Financial Guarantee:

        

Gross premiums written

   $ 215,544     $ 238,720     $ 749,434     $ 793,091  

Ceded premiums written

     (26,350 )     (34,296 )     (75,340 )     (61,707 )
                                

Net premiums written

   $ 189,194     $ 204,424     $ 674,094     $ 731,384  
                                

Net premiums earned

   $ 202,421     $ 219,811     $ 610,823     $ 614,044  

Other credit enhancement fees

     15,395       12,860       42,419       37,312  
                                

Net premiums earned and other credit enhancement fees

     217,816       232,671       653,242       651,356  

Net investment income

     120,245       110,646       351,168       317,104  

Net realized investment gains

     1,329       5,013       2,842       6,004  

Net mark-to-market gains (losses) on credit derivative contracts

     2,572       1,555       9,906       (4,785 )

Other income

     707       1,835       32,135       3,409  

Financial Services:

        

Interest from payment agreements

     3,013       3,011       9,117       9,034  

Other revenue

     3,555       11,426       18,949       11,370  
                                

Total revenues

     349,237       366,157       1,077,359       993,492  
                                

Expenses:

        

Financial Guarantee:

        

Loss and loss expenses

     (2,543 )     89,126       10,406       134,255  

Underwriting and operating expenses

     30,192       27,844       99,959       89,939  

Interest expense on variable interest entity notes

     12,754       11,623       37,335       35,018  

Financial Services:

        

Interest from payment agreements

     2,387       1,680       6,796       4,801  

Other expenses

     1,366       1,519       4,562       4,949  
                                

Total expenses

     44,156       131,792       159,058       268,962  
                                

Income before income taxes

     305,081       234,365       918,301       724,530  

Provision for income taxes

     86,950       53,433       251,906       181,480  
                                

Net income

   $ 218,131     $ 180,932     $ 666,395     $ 543,050  
                                

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Unaudited Financial Statements

 

3


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Stockholder’s Equity

(Unaudited)

For The Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

     2006    2005  

Retained Earnings:

         

Balance at January 1

   $ 4,499,098        $ 4,094,381    

Net income

     666,395     $ 666,395      543,050     $ 543,050  
                   

Dividends declared—common stock

     (102,000 )        (323,800 )  
                     

Balance at September 30

   $ 5,063,493        $ 4,313,631    
                     

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income:

         

Balance at January 1

   $ 136,897        $ 237,632    

Unrealized gains (losses) on securities, $3,477 and ($101,458), pre-tax, in 2006 and 2005, respectively(1)

       2,259        (65,948 )

Foreign currency translation gain (loss)

       5,086        (6,480 )
                   

Other comprehensive gain (loss)

     7,345       7,345      (72,428 )     (72,428 )
                               

Comprehensive income

     $ 673,740      $ 470,622  
                   

Balance at September 30

   $ 144,242        $ 165,204    
                     

Preferred Stock:

         

Balance at January 1 and September 30

   $ —          $ —      
                     

Common Stock:

         

Balance at January 1 and September 30

   $ 82,000        $ 82,000    
                     

Additional Paid-in Capital:

         

Balance at January 1

   $ 1,453,060        $ 1,232,701    

Capital issuance costs

     (2,636 )        (4,028 )  

Employee benefit plans

     15,129          13,839    

Excess tax benefit related to share-based compensation

     10,212          9,423    
                     

Balance at September 30

   $ 1,475,765        $ 1,251,935    
                     

Total Stockholder’s Equity at September 30

   $ 6,765,500        $ 5,812,770    
                     

(1)Disclosure of reclassification amount:

         

Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during period

   $ 2,795        ($ 63,068 )  

Less: reclassification adjustment for net securities gains included in net income

     536          2,880    
                     

Net unrealized gains (losses) on securities

   $ 2,259        ($ 65,948 )  
                     

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Unaudited Financial Statements.

 

4


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

For The Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and 2005

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2006     2005  

Cash flows from operating activities:

    

Net income

   $ 666,395     $ 543,050  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     2,075       3,130  

Amortization of bond premium and discount

     18,601       9,628  

Share based compensation

     17,626       13,839  

Current income taxes

     26,380       22,380  

Deferred income taxes

     (2,768 )     (17,893 )

Deferred acquisition costs

     (15,254 )     (16,968 )

Unearned premiums, net

     65,056       115,591  

Loss and loss expenses

     (26,087 )     50,372  

Ceded reinsurance balances payable

     (6,783 )     824  

Change in trading account assets

     (85,000 )     —    

Net realized investment gains

     (2,842 )     (6,004 )

Other, net

     37,816       30,248  
                

Net cash provided by operating activities

     695,215       748,197  
                

Cash flows from investing activities:

    

Proceeds from sales of bonds

     527,216       1,055,026  

Proceeds from maturities of bonds

     323,754       293,356  

Purchases of bonds

     (1,806,404 )     (2,066,097 )

Change in short-term investments

     230,166       323,975  

Loans

     150,206       43,094  

Securities purchased under agreements to resell

     63,000       (29,000 )

Other, net

     (1,034 )     (46,323 )
                

Net cash used in investing activities

     (513,096 )     (425,969 )
                

Cash flows from financing activities:

    

Dividends paid

     (102,000 )     (323,800 )

Capital issuance costs

     (2,636 )     (4,028 )

Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt

     100,000       100,000  

Payment for redemption of long-term debt

     (173,204 )     (105,528 )

Payment agreements

     (200 )     (225 )

Net cash collateral received

     (695 )     14,107  

Excess tax benefit related to share-based compensation

     10,212       —    
                

Net cash used in financing activities

     (168,523 )     (319,474 )
                

Net cash flow

     13,596       2,754  

Cash at January 1

     21,145       17,360  
                

Cash at September 30

   $ 34,741     $ 20,114  
                

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:

    

Cash paid during the period for:

    

Income taxes

   $ 197,971     $ 167,047  
                

Interest on payment agreements

   $ 5,996     $ 3,928  
                

Interest on long-term debt

   $ 30,841     $ 28,593  
                

Cash received during the period for:

    

Income taxes

   $ 0     $ 587  
                

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Unaudited Financial Statements.

 

5


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

(Dollars in thousands)

 

  (1) Background and Basis of Presentation

Ambac Assurance Corporation is a leading provider of financial guarantees to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. Ambac Assurance provides financial guarantees on public finance and structured finance obligations. Ambac Assurance has earned triple-A ratings, the highest ratings available from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, Fitch, Inc., and Rating and Investment Information, Inc. These ratings are an essential part of Ambac Assurance’s ability to provide credit enhancement and any reduction in these ratings could have a material adverse affect on Ambac Assurance’s ability to compete in the financial guarantee business. Financial guarantee insurance policies written by Ambac Assurance generally guarantee payment when due of the principal of and interest on the guaranteed obligation. Ambac Assurance is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group, Inc, a holding company whose subsidiaries provide financial guarantee products and other financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. As of September 30, 2006, Ambac Assurance’s net guarantees in force (principal and interest) were $794,640,262.

Ambac Credit Products LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambac Assurance, provides credit protection in the global markets in the form of structured credit derivatives. These structured credit derivatives, which are privately negotiated contracts, provide the counterparty with credit protection against the occurrence of a specific event such as a payment default or bankruptcy relating to an underlying obligation. Upon a credit event, Ambac Credit Products is required to either (i) purchase the underlying obligation at its par value and a loss is realized for the difference between the par and market value of the underlying obligation, (ii) make a payment equivalent to the difference between the par value and market value of the underlying obligation or (iii) make payments for the difference between the scheduled debt service payment due and the actual payment made by the issuer. Substantially all of Ambac Assurance’s structured credit derivative contracts relate to senior tranches of structured finance transactions and are partially hedged with various financial institutions or structured with first loss protection. Structured credit derivatives issued by Ambac Credit Products are insured by Ambac Assurance.

Ambac UK, an Ambac Assurance wholly owned subsidiary, is licensed to transact credit, suretyship and financial guarantee insurance in the United Kingdom and to offer insurance services in thirteen other European Union (“EU”) countries. EU directives allow Ambac UK to conduct business in EU states other than the United Kingdom in compliance with the scope of permission granted these companies by the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) without the necessity of additional licensing or authorization in other EU jurisdictions. In February 2005, Ambac UK established a branch office in Milan, Italy. Ambac UK has entered into net worth maintenance and reinsurance agreements with Ambac Assurance, which support its triple-A ratings. Ambac Credit Products Limited, also an Ambac Assurance wholly-owned subsidiary, is licensed in the United Kingdom to transact credit derivatives, as well as act as agent for Ambac Credit Products LLP. Ambac Credit Products Limited is currently able to offer services in two other European Union countries.

 

6


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

Ambac Assurance, through its affiliate Ambac Financial Services, is a provider of interest rate and currency swaps to states, municipalities and their authorities, issuers of asset-backed securities and other entities in connection with their financings. Ambac Assurance, through its subsidiary Ambac Capital Services, enters into total return swaps with professional counterparties. Total return swaps are generally used for fixed income obligations, which meet Ambac Assurance’s credit underwriting criteria. These swaps are insured by Ambac Assurance.

The accompanying consolidated unaudited interim financial statements have been prepared on the basis of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The results of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 may not be indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2006. These consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in (i) the audited consolidated financial statements of Ambac Assurance and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2005 which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2006 as Exhibit 99.01 to Ambac Financial Group Inc.’s Form 10-K, (ii) the unaudited consolidated financial statements of Ambac Assurance and subsidiaries as of March 31, 2006, which was filed with the SEC on May 10, 2006 as Exhibit 99.03 to Ambac Financial Group’s Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2006, and (iii) the unaudited consolidated financial statements of Ambac Assurance and subsidiaries as of June 30, 2006, which was filed with the SEC on August 9, 2006 as Exhibit 99.07 to Ambac Financial Group’s Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2006.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Ambac Assurance and all other entities in which Ambac Assurance has a controlling financial interest. The usual condition for a controlling financial interest is ownership of a majority of the voting interests of an entity. However, a controlling financial interest may also exist in entities, such as special purpose entities (“SPEs”), through arrangements that do not involve controlling voting interests. All significant intercompany balances have been eliminated.

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period’s amounts to conform to the current period’s presentation.

 

  (2) Net Premiums Earned

Gross premiums are received either upfront (typical of public finance obligations), or in installments (typical of structured finance obligations). Up-front insurance premiums written are received for an entire bond issue, which may contain several maturities; and are recorded as unearned premiums. Premium earnings under both the upfront and installment revenue recognition methods are in proportion to the principal amount guaranteed and result in higher premium earnings during periods where guaranteed principal is higher. When an issue insured by Ambac Assurance has been refunded or called, the remaining unrecognized premium (net of refunding credits, if any) is recognized at that time.

 

7


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

Premiums ceded to reinsurers reduce the amount of net premiums earned by Ambac from its financial guarantee insurance policies. For both up-front and installment premiums, ceded premiums written are primarily recognized in earnings in proportion to and at the same time the related gross premium revenue is recognized. Prepaid reinsurance represents the portion of premiums ceded to reinsurers relating to unearned premiums ceded under reinsurance contracts. As discussed in the last paragraph of footnote 3, the accounting for premiums earned is subject to change.

 

  (3) Loss and Loss Expenses

Ambac Assurance’s financial guarantee insurance is a promise to pay scheduled interest and principal if the issuer of the insured obligation fails to meet its obligation. The loss reserve policy for financial guarantee insurance discussed in this footnote relates only to Ambac Assurance’s non-derivative insurance business. Losses and loss expenses are based upon estimates of the ultimate aggregate losses inherent in the non-derivative financial guarantee portfolio as of the reporting date. The evaluation process for determining the level of reserves is subject to certain estimates and judgments. In most instances, claim payments are forecasted in advance of issuer default as a result of active surveillance of the insured book of business and observation of deterioration in the obligor’s credit standing. Based upon Ambac Assurance’s experience, claim payments become probable and estimable once the issuer’s credit profile has migrated to certain impaired credit levels. The trustee, on behalf of the insured party, named beneficiary, or custodian has the right to make a claim under Ambac Assurance’s financial guarantee insurance policy at the first scheduled debt service date of the defaulted obligation. As discussed in the last paragraph of this note, the accounting for credit loss reserves is subject to change.

The liability for losses and loss expenses consists of active credit and case basis credit reserves. Active credit reserves are for probable and estimable losses due to credit deterioration on insured credits that have not yet defaulted or been reported and are reflected on an undiscounted basis as of the reporting date. The establishment of reserves for exposures that have not yet defaulted is a common practice in the financial guarantee industry. However, Ambac Assurance is aware that there are differences in the specific methodologies applied by other financial guarantors in establishing such reserves. Ambac Assurance’s active credit reserve is based on management’s on-going review of the non-derivative financial guarantee credit portfolio. Active surveillance of the insured portfolio enables Ambac Assurance’s Surveillance Group to track credit migration of insured obligations from period to period and prepare an adversely classified credit listing. The active credit reserve is established only for adversely classified credits. The criteria for an exposure to be included on the adversely classified credit listing includes the deterioration in an issuer’s financial condition, underperformance of the underlying collateral (for collateral dependent transactions such as mortgage-backed securitizations), problems with the servicer of the underlying collateral and other adverse economic events or trends. The servicer of

 

8


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

the underlying collateral of an insured securitization transaction is a consideration in assessing credit quality because the servicer’s performance can directly impact the performance of the related issue. For example, a servicer of a mortgage-backed securitization that does not remain current in its collection efforts could cause an increase in the delinquency and potential default of the underlying obligation.

The active credit reserve is established through a process that begins with estimates of probable losses inherent in the adversely classified credit portfolio. Estimates are computed for each adversely classified credit. These estimates are based upon: (i) Ambac Assurance’s internal system of credit ratings, which are analogous to the risk ratings of the major rating agencies; (ii) internally developed historical default information (taking into consideration ratings and average life of an obligation); (iii) internally developed loss severities; and (iv) the net par outstanding on the adversely classified credit. The loss severities and default information are based on rating agency information and are specific to each bond type and are established and approved by Ambac Assurance’s Portfolio Risk Management Committee. The Portfolio Risk Management Committee is comprised of senior risk management professionals and other senior management of Ambac Assurance. For certain credit exposures that have deteriorated significantly, Ambac Assurance will undertake additional monitoring and loss remediation efforts. Additional remediation can include various actions by Ambac Assurance. The most common actions include obtaining detailed appraisal information on collateral, more frequent meetings with the issuer’s or servicer’s management to review operations, financial condition and financial forecasts and more frequent analysis of the issuer’s financial statements. For these credits, Ambac Assurance would use relevant information obtained from its remediation efforts to adjust the estimate discussed above. Senior management meets at least quarterly with the Surveillance Group to review the status of their work to determine the adequacy of Ambac Assurance’s loss reserves and make any necessary adjustments. Active credit reserves were $147,624 and $197,607 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. The active credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 were comprised of 71 and 88 credits with net par outstanding of $5,416,735 and $6,319,724, respectively. Included in the calculation of active credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 was the consideration of $9,722 and $17,479, respectively, of reinsurance which would be due to Ambac Assurance from reinsurers, upon default of the insured obligation.

Case basis credit reserves are for losses on insured obligations that have defaulted. We believe our definition of case basis credit reserves differs from other financial guarantee industry participants. Upon the occurrence of a payment default, the related active credit reserve is transferred to case basis credit reserve. Additional provision for losses upon further credit deterioration of a case basis exposure are initially recorded through the active credit reserve and subsequently transferred to case basis credit reserves. Our case reserves represent the present value of anticipated loss and loss expense payments expected over the estimated period of default. Loss and loss expenses consider anticipated defaulted debt service payments, estimated expenses associated with settling the claims and estimated recoveries under collateral and subrogation rights. The estimate does not consider future installment premium receipts, as the likelihood of such receipts is remote. Ambac Assurance discounts these estimated net payments using discount rates that approximate the average taxable equivalent yield on our investment portfolio.

 

9


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

Case basis credit reserves were $131,990 and $106,532 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. The discount rate applied to case basis credit reserves was 4.75% at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005. The case basis credit reserves at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 were comprised of 8 and 10 credits, respectively, with net par outstanding of $766,319 and $838,975, respectively. Additionally, we have reinsurance recoverables on case basis credit reserves of $5,264 and $3,468 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

Ambac Assurance provides information on the classification of its loss reserve between active credit reserve and case basis credit reserve for the purpose of disclosing the components of the total reserve that relate to exposures that have not yet defaulted and those that have defaulted. The total reserve (active credit and case basis) was $279,614 and $304,139 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. Due to the relatively small number and large size of certain insured obligations comprising the active and case basis credit reserves, improvements or further deterioration in any one credit may significantly impact our loss provision in a given period. The provision for losses and loss expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations represents the expense recorded to bring the total reserve to a level determined by management to be adequate for losses inherent in the non-derivative financial guarantee insurance portfolio.

Our liabilities for credit losses are based in part on the short-duration accounting guidance in SFAS No. 60, “Accounting and Reporting by Insurance Enterprises.” The trustee (on behalf of the insured party), named beneficiary or custodian has a right to a claim payment under the financial guarantee insurance policy at the date of the first scheduled debt service payment of a defaulted security in the amount equal to the payment shortfall. We believe a loss event occurs for financial guarantee insurance products at the time the issuers’ financial condition deteriorates to an impaired credit status rather than at the time the insured party has a right to a claim payment. Because of this belief and the ambiguities discussed below in the application of SFAS No. 60 to the financial guarantee industry, Ambac Assurance does not believe that SFAS No. 60 alone provides sufficient guidance. As a result, Ambac Assurance supplements the guidance in SFAS No. 60 with the guidance in SFAS No. 5, “Accounting for Contingencies,” which calls for a loss to be accrued if it is probable that a liability has been incurred at the date of the financial statements and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Ambac also relies by analogy on EITF Issue No. 85-20, “Recognition of Fees for Guaranteeing a Loan,” which states that a guarantor should perform an ongoing assessment of the probability of loss to determine if a liability (and a loss) should be recognized under SFAS No. 5.

In management’s view, the accounting guidance noted above does not comprehensively address the attributes of financial guarantee insurance contracts, primarily due to the fact that SFAS No. 60 was developed prior to the maturity of the financial guarantee industry. Financial guarantee contracts have elements of long-duration insurance contracts in that they are generally irrevocable and extend over a period of time that may be 30 years or more but are considered and

 

10


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

reported for regulatory purposes as property and casualty insurance, normally considered short-duration contracts. The short-duration and long-duration classifications have different methods of accounting for premium revenue, deferred acquisition costs and contract liability recognition.

Ambac Assurance is aware that there are certain differences regarding the measurement of liabilities for credit losses among participants in the financial guarantee industry. Difficulties applying the existing insurance accounting literature such as the classification of the insurance contracts as either short-duration or long-duration to the attributes of financial guarantee insurance, different measurement models and assumptions utilized, regulatory guidance provided to certain entities, and the existence of accounting literature providing guidance with respect to liability recognition for loan guarantees are the reasons for differences among the industry participants.

In January and February of 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) staff discussed with the financial guarantee industry participants differences in loss reserve recognition practices among those participants. In June 2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) added a project to its agenda to consider the accounting by financial guarantee insurers for claims liability recognition, premium recognition and deferred acquisition costs. The proposed and final guidance are expected to be issued in 2007. When the FASB reaches a final resolution on this issue, Ambac Assurance and the rest of the financial guarantee industry may be required to change some aspects of their loss reserving policies and premium and expense recognition. Until a final standard is released, Ambac Assurance cannot predict how the FASB will resolve this issue and the resulting impact on our financial statements. Until the issue is resolved, Ambac Assurance intends to continue to apply its existing policy with respect to the establishment of both case and active credit reserves.

 

  (4) Special Purpose and Variable Interest Entities

Ambac Financial Group has involvement with special purpose entities, including variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in the following ways. First, Ambac Assurance is a provider of financial guarantee insurance for various debt obligations. Second, Ambac Financial Group has sponsored two special purpose entities that issue medium-term notes (“MTNs”) to fund the purchase of certain financial assets. As discussed in detail below, these Ambac Financial Group-sponsored special purpose entities are considered Qualifying Special Purpose Entities (“QSPEs”). Lastly, Ambac Assurance is an investor in asset-backed securities issued by VIEs, and, in one transaction, has a beneficial interest in a VIE that purchases fixed rate municipal bonds with proceeds from the issuance of floating rate short term beneficial interests as discussed in detail below.

 

11


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

Financial Guarantees:

Ambac Assurance provides financial guarantees in respect of debt obligations of special purpose entities, including VIEs. Ambac Assurance’s primary variable interest exists through this financial guarantee insurance or credit derivative contract. The transaction structure provides certain financial protection to Ambac Assurance. This financial protection can take several forms; however, the most common are over-collateralization, first loss and excess spread. In the case of over-collateralization, (i.e., the principal amount of the securitized assets exceeds the principal amount of the structured finance obligations guaranteed by Ambac Assurance), the structure allows the transaction to experience defaults among the securitized assets before a default is experienced on the structured finance obligations that have been guaranteed by Ambac Assurance. In the case of first loss, the financial guarantee insurance policy only covers a senior layer of losses on debt issued by special purpose entities, including VIEs. The first loss with respect to the assets is either retained by the seller or sold off in the form of equity or mezzanine debt to other investors. In the case of excess spread, the financial assets contributed to special purpose entities, including VIEs, generate interest cash flows that are in excess of the interest payments on the related debt; such excess cash flow is applied to redeem debt, thus creating over-collateralization.

As of September 30, 2006, Ambac Assurance is the primary beneficiary under three transactions as a result of providing financial guarantees to these entities. Ambac Assurance consolidated these entities since the structural financial protections are outside the VIEs. These structural protections, had they existed inside the VIEs, would have absorbed a majority of the VIEs’ expected losses and consequently Ambac Assurance would not have consolidated these entities. All consolidated VIEs are bankruptcy remote special purpose financing entities created by the issuer of debt securities to facilitate the sale of notes guaranteed by Ambac Assurance. Ambac Assurance is not primarily liable for the debt obligations of these entities. Ambac Assurance would only be required to make payments on these debt obligations in the event that the issuer defaults on any principal or interest due. Additionally, Ambac Assurance’s creditors do not have rights with regard to the assets of these VIEs.

Proceeds from the note issuance of the first VIE transaction, which closed in 2002, were used to purchase senior mortgage-backed floating rate notes of a South Korean mortgage-backed securities issuer. Protections afforded Ambac Assurance in this transaction were in the form of a reserve fund and the issuance of subordinated debt. Ambac Assurance will pay claims under its financial guarantee only in the event that losses on the mortgage assets of the South Korean issuer reduce the reserve fund to zero and exceed the principal amount of the subordinated notes. Total long-term debt outstanding under this note issuance was $37,380 and $64,522 with a final maturity date of December 3, 2022 and a variable rate of interest which was 5.77% and 4.26% at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

Proceeds from the note issuances of the other transactions, both of which closed in 2004, were used to purchase notes issued by special purpose reinsurance companies in connection with their reinsurance of defined blocks of life insurance contracts. Protections afforded Ambac Assurance were in the form of capital contributed to the reinsurance

 

12


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

companies and the issuance of subordinated debt by the VIEs. Ambac Assurance will pay claims under its financial guarantees in these transactions if cash flows generated under the reinsurance agreements and the proceeds from the contributed capital and subordinated debt are insufficient to repay the noteholders. Total debt outstanding under these note issuances was $984,136 and $977,325 at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, with maturity dates ranging from April 15, 2016 to February 6, 2025. At September 30, 2006 the interest rate on these notes ranged from 4.75% to 5.33%. Under one of these transactions, Ambac Assurance is subject to potential consolidation of an additional $200,000 of assets and liabilities in connection with future utilization of the VIE by the reinsurer.

The following table provides supplemental information about the combined assets and liabilities associated with the VIEs discussed above. The assets and liabilities of these VIEs are consolidated into the respective Balance Sheet captions.

 

     At September 30, 2006     At December 31, 2005

Assets:

    

Cash

   $ 1,557     $ 676

Loans

Investment in fixed income securities

    
 
555,541
464,381
 
 
   
 
659,379
390,423

Investment income due and accrued

     7,871       7,448

Derivative assets

     2,375       —  

Other assets

     6,655       —  
              

Total assets

   $ 1,038,380     $ 1,057,926
              

Liabilities:

    

Long-term debt

     1,021,516     $ 1,041,848

Derivative liabilities

     —         6,332

Deferred taxes

     (77 )     315

Accrued interest payable

     8,801       8,303

Other liabilities

     8,282       543
              

Total liabilities

     1,038,522       1,057,341
              

Stockholder’s equity:

    

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     (142 )     585
              

Total liabilities and stockholder’s equity

   $ 1,038,380     $ 1,057,926
              

Qualified Special Purpose Entities:

Ambac Financial Group has transferred financial assets to two special purpose entities. The business purpose of these entities is to provide certain financial guarantee clients with funding for their debt obligations. These entities meet the characteristics of QSPEs in accordance with SFAS 140. QSPEs are not subject to the requirements of FIN 46-R and accordingly are not consolidated in Ambac Financial Group’s or Ambac Assurance’s financial statements. The QSPEs are legal entities that are demonstrably distinct from Ambac Financial Group. Ambac Financial Group, its affiliates or its agents cannot unilaterally dissolve the QSPEs. The QSPEs permitted activities are limited to those outlined below.

 

13


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

As of September 30, 2006, there have been 14 individual transactions processed through the QSPEs of which 9 are outstanding. In each case, Ambac Financial Group sold fixed income debt obligations to the QSPEs. These transactions are true sales based upon the bankruptcy remote nature of the QSPE and the absence of any agreement or obligation for Ambac Financial Group to repurchase or redeem assets of the QSPE. Additionally, Ambac Financial Group’s creditors do not have any rights with regards to the assets of the QSPEs. The purchase by the QSPE is financed through the issuance of MTNs, which are collateralized by the purchased assets. Derivative contracts (interest rate and currency swaps) may be used for hedging purposes only. Derivative hedges are established at the time MTNs are issued to purchase financial assets. The activities of the QSPEs are contractually limited to purchasing assets from Ambac Financial Group, issuing MTNs to fund such purchase, executing derivative hedges and related administrative services. Ambac Assurance may issue a financial guarantee insurance policy on the assets sold, the MTNs issued or both. As of September 30, 2006, Ambac Assurance had financial guarantee insurance policies issued for all assets, MTNs and derivative contracts owned and outstanding by the QSPEs.

Pursuant to the terms of Ambac Assurance’s insurance policy, insurance premiums are paid to Ambac Assurance by the QSPEs and are earned in a manner consistent with other insurance policies, over the risk period. Any losses incurred would be included in Ambac Assurance’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Under the terms of an Administrative Agency Agreement, Ambac Financial Group provides certain administrative duties, primarily collecting amounts due on the obligations and making interest payments on the MTNs.

There were no assets sold to the QSPEs during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and the year ended December 31, 2005. As of September 30, 2006, the estimated fair value of financial assets, MTN liabilities and derivative hedge liabilities of the QSPEs was $1,572,969, $1,606,733 and $3,269, respectively. When market quotes are not available, fair values are based on internal valuation models, which utilize current market information. The valuation results from these models could differ materially from amounts that would actually be realized in the market. Ambac Assurance received gross premiums for issuing financial guarantee policies on the assets, MTNs and derivative contracts of $3,774 and $4,317 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Ambac Financial Group also received fees for providing other services amounting to $200 and $241 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

VIE Beneficial Interest:

Ambac Assurance owns a beneficial interest in a special purpose entity that meets the definition of a VIE. This entity has issued floating rate beneficial interests to investors and invested the proceeds in fixed rate municipal debt securities. These beneficial interests are directly secured by the related municipal debt securities. Ambac Assurance is the primary beneficiary of this entity as a result of its beneficial interest. The fixed rate municipal debt securities, which are reported as Investments in fixed income securities, at fair value on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, were $259,023 and $258,806 as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. The beneficial interests issued to third parties, reported as

 

14


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

“Obligations Under Payment Agreements” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, were $248,560 and $248,760 as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. As of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, the interest rates on these beneficial interests ranged from 2.96% to 4.00% and from 1.49% to 3.55%, respectively.

 

  (5) Employee Benefit Plans

        Stock-based Compensation:

The Ambac Financial Group 1997 Equity Plan (the “Equity Plan”) provides for the granting of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance units and other awards that are valued or determined by reference to Ambac Financial Group’s Common Stock. Ambac Financial Group also maintains the Ambac 1997 Non-Employee Directors Equity Plan, which provides awards of restricted stock units to non-employee members of the Ambac’s Board of Directors. Stock options and RSUs granted under these plans provide that vesting is accelerated in certain circumstances such as upon retirement or death. As of September 30, 2006, approximately 7,800,000 shares were available for future grant under the Equity Plan and the Directors Equity Plan. The number of restricted stock units awarded to each non-employee director under the Directors Equity Plan are determined by formula.

Since January 1, 2003, Ambac Assurance accounted for stock-based employee compensation in accordance with the fair-value method prescribed by SFAS No. 123 as amended by SFAS Statement 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation – Transition and Disclosure,” (“SFAS 148”), prospectively to all employee awards granted after January 1, 2003.

Effective January 1, 2006, Ambac Assurance adopted SFAS No. 123-R, “Share-Based Payment”, (“SFAS No. 123-R”) by using the modified prospective approach to all employee awards granted after the effective date. Beginning with the effective date, SFAS 123-R requires entities to recognize compensation cost for all equity-classified awards after the effective date and for all awards granted to employees prior to the effective date of SFAS No. 123-R that remain unvested on the effective date using the fair-value measurement method and estimating forfeitures for all unvested awards. Key differences between SFAS No. 123-R and SFAS No. 123 are:

 

    SFAS No. 123-R provided clarification that the Black-Scholes-Merton model is not appropriate for stock options containing a market condition that affects vesting and the ability to exercise. Stock options granted by Ambac Financial Group prior to the adoption of SFAS 123-R were valued using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. Stock options granted in 2006 will vest on the earlier of Ambac Financial Group’s common stock achieving certain price targets (market conditions) or meeting the requisite service requirement, therefore, the fair value of each market condition award was estimated on the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model.

 

15


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

    SFAS 123-R requires compensation expense be recognized for partially vested awards outstanding at its effective date. The expense related to the unvested award will be recognized for the remainder of the requisite service period. Certain market condition stock option grants previously accounted for under APB No. 25 were partially vested as of January 1, 2006. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 approximately $205 and $616, respectively, of compensation expense is recorded for these partially vested awards.

 

    SFAS No.123-R requires the grant date expensing of share-based awards granted to retirement-eligible employees. This is consistent with how Ambac Assurance recognized such awards under SFAS 123. Based on interpretative guidance under SFAS No. 123-R, Ambac Assurance must elect to continue to expense awards to retirement eligible employees on the grant date or accrue in the year prior to the grant date. Ambac Assurance elected to accrue the estimated cost of the 2007 stock-compensation grants to retirement-eligible employees over the service period. Therefore, Ambac Assurance will accrue the estimated cost of such awards over the course of the fiscal year preceding the grant date ($1,766 and $5,299 recognized in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006).

Stock options and restricted stock unit expenses are allocated to each of Ambac Financial Group’s subsidiaries based on the actual number of stock options and restricted stock units granted to each subsidiary’s employees.

Pensions:

Ambac Financial Group has a defined benefit pension plan covering substantially all employees of Ambac Assurance. The benefits are based on years of service and the employee’s average highest salary during five consecutive years of employment within the last ten years of employment. On October 23, 2006, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Ambac Financial Group approved an amendment to the Pension Plan that will terminate the Plan effective December 31, 2006. Benefits under the Plan will cease to accrue as of December 31, 2006 and the Plan will be amended to provide participants a choice of a lump-sum payment or an annuity. The Compensation Committee intends to replace this benefit with an increased matching contribution to Ambac’s defined contribution plan.

Pension expense is allocated to each of Ambac Financial Group’s subsidiaries based on percentage of payroll. Pension expense recorded by Ambac Assurance amounted to $379 and $1,119 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively, compared to $338 and $982 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively.

Postretirement and Other Benefits:

Ambac Financial Group provides postretirement and postemployment benefits, including health and life benefits that cover substantially all employees who meet certain age and service requirements. Effective August 1, 2005, new employees were not eligible for postretirement benefits. Amounts related to postretirement health benefits are charged based on actuarial determinations. These expenses are allocated for each of Ambac Financial Group’s subsidiaries

 

16


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

based on a percentage of payroll. All plans are contributory. None of the plans are currently funded. Ambac Assurance’s postretirement and post employment benefit expense was $300 and $886 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively, compared to $223 and $639 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005, respectively.

 

  (6) Segment Information

Ambac Assurance has two reportable segments, as follows: (1) financial guarantee, which provides financial guarantees (including structured credit derivatives) for public finance and structured finance obligations; and (2) financial services, which provides payment agreements, interest rate, currency and total return swaps.

Ambac Assurance’s reportable segments are strategic business units that offer different products and services. They are managed separately because each business requires different marketing strategies, personnel skill sets and technology.

Pursuant to insurance and indemnity agreements between Ambac Financial Services and Ambac Assurance, Ambac Financial Services’ payment obligations under its swap agreements are guaranteed by Ambac Assurance. Additionally, the payment obligations of Ambac Financial Services’ counterparties, under their swap agreements with Ambac Financial Services, are guaranteed by Ambac Assurance pursuant to insurance and indemnity agreements. Intersegment revenues include the premiums earned under those agreements. Such premiums are determined as if they were premiums to third parties, that is, at current market prices. In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, Financial Guarantee intersegment revenues include dividends of $10,600 and $21,600, respectively, from the Financial Services segment, compared to $0 and $2,500 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005.

 

17


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

The following tables summarize the financial information by reportable segment as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005:

 

(Dollars in thousands)
Three months ended September 30,

   Financial
Guarantee
   Financial
Services
    Intersegment
Eliminations
    Consolidated

2006:

         

Revenues:

         

External customers

   $ 342,669    $ 6,568     $ —       $ 349,237

Intersegment

     11,086      —         (11,086 )     —  
                             

Total revenues

   $ 353,755    $ 6,568     ($ 11,086 )   $ 349,237
                             

Income before income taxes:

         

External customers

   $ 302,266    $ 2,815     $ —       $ 305,081

Intersegment

     11,760      (1,160 )     (10,600 )     —  
                             

Total income before income taxes

   $ 314,026    $ 1,655     ($ 10,600 )   $ 305,081
                             

Total assets

   $ 11,402,235    $ 1,501,443     $ —       $ 12,903,678
                             

2005:

         

Revenues:

         

External customers

   $ 351,720    $ 14,437     $ —       $ 366,157

Intersegment

     772      —         (772 )     —  
                             

Total revenues

   $ 352,492    $ 14,437     ($ 772 )   $ 366,157
                             

Income before income taxes:

         

External customers

   $ 223,127    $ 11,238     $ —       $ 234,365

Intersegment

     1,351      (1,351 )     —         —  
                             

Total income before income taxes

   $ 224,478    $ 9,887     $ —       $ 234,365
                             

Total assets

   $ 10,383,179    $ 1,401,655     $ —       $ 11,784,834
                             

 

(Dollars in thousands)
Nine months ended September 30,

   Financial
Guarantee
   Financial
Services
    Intersegment
Eliminations
    Consolidated

2006:

         

Revenues:

         

External customers

   $ 1,049,293    $ 28,066     $ —       $ 1,077,359

Intersegment

     23,500      —         (23,500 )     —  
                             

Total revenues

   $ 1,072,793    $ 28,066     ($ 23,500 )   $ 1,077,359
                             

Income before income taxes:

         

External customers

   $ 901,593    $ 16,708     $ —       $ 918,301

Intersegment

     25,522      (3,922 )     (21,600 )     —  
                             

Total income before income taxes

   $ 927,115    $ 12,786     ($ 21,600 )   $ 918,301
                             

Identifiable assets

   $ 11,402,235    $ 1,501,443     $ —       $ 12,903,678
                             

2005:

         

Revenues:

         

External customers

   $ 973,088    $ 20,404     $ —       $ 993,492

Intersegment

     4,619      —         (4,619 )     —  
                             

Total revenues

   $ 977,707    $ 20,404     ($ 4,619 )   $ 993,492
                             

Income before income taxes:

         

External customers

   $ 713,876    $ 10,654     $ —       $ 724,530

Intersegment

     6,356      (3,856 )     (2,500 )     —  
                             

Total income before income taxes

   $ 720,232    $ 6,798     ($ 2,500 )   $ 724,530
                             

Identifiable assets

   $ 10,383,179    $ 1,401,655     $ —       $ 11,784,834
                             

 

18


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

The following table summarizes unaffiliated gross premiums written and net premiums earned and other credit enhancement fees included in the financial guarantee segment by location of risk for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005:

 

(Dollars in thousands)    Three Months    Nine Months
     Gross
Premiums
Written
   Net
Premiums
Earned and
Other Credit
Enhancement
Fees
   Gross
Premiums
Written
   Net
Premiums
Earned and
Other Credit
Enhancement
Fees

2006:

           

United States

   $ 153,108    $ 153,294    $ 538,736    $ 481,891

United Kingdom

     32,541      27,928      106,128      60,033

Japan

     6,565      5,854      20,606      18,237

Italy

     1,611      2,300      10,017      6,616

Australia

     711      2,316      9,734      7,915

Brazil

     2,070      1,801      6,846      5,913

Mexico

     1,111      1,003      3,454      3,109

Internationally diversified (1)

     8,189      12,012      26,821      39,606

Other international

     9,637      11,308      27,092      29,922
                           

Total

   $ 215,543    $ 217,816    $ 749,434    $ 653,242
                           

2005:

           

United States

   $ 190,646    $ 176,266    $ 627,766    $ 486,010

United Kingdom

     17,193      17,089      62,867      50,045

Japan

     7,135      7,278      21,025      22,414

Italy

     563      1,980      8,925      6,253

Australia

     3,593      2,218      12,696      6,521

Brazil

     4,263      3,347      10,089      8,068

Mexico

     1,101      580      8,841      3,965

Internationally diversified (1)

     8,124      15,520      23,555      43,967

Other international

     6,102      8,393      17,327      24,113
                           

Total

   $ 238,720    $ 232,671    $ 793,091    $ 651,356
                           

 

1) Internationally diversified includes guarantees with multiple locations of risk and includes components of United States exposure.

 

  (7) Accounting Standards

On February 16, 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments”. SFAS 155 amends SFAS 133 and SFAS 140, and addresses issues raised in SFAS 133 Implementation Issue No. D1, “Application of Statement 133 to Beneficial Interests in Securitized Financial Assets.” The primary objectives of SFAS 155 are: (i) with respect to SFAS 133, to address the accounting for beneficial interests in securitized financial assets and (ii) with respect to SFAS 140, eliminate a restriction on the passive derivative instruments that a QSPE may hold. SFAS 155 is effective for all financial instruments acquired or issued after the beginning of an entity’s first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006. Earlier adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year, provided the entity has not yet issued financial statements, including financial statements for any interim period for that fiscal year. Ambac Assurance will adopt SFAS 155 on January 1, 2007 and is currently evaluating the implications of SFAS 155 on its financial statements.

 

19


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

On April 13, 2006, the FASB issued Staff Position (“FSP”) No. FIN 46(R)-6 “Determining the Variability to be Considered in Applying FASB Interpretation No. 46(R)”. This FSP addresses the approach to determine the variability to consider when applying FIN 46 (R) and includes illustrative examples of how the variability should be considered. The variability that is considered may affect the determination as to whether the entity is a VIE, the determination of which interests are variable interests in the entity, if necessary, the calculation of expected losses and residual returns of the entity, and the determination of which party is the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The effective date for prospective application is the first day of the first reporting period beginning after June 15, 2006. Retrospective application, if elected, should be completed no later than the end of the annual reporting period after July 15, 2006, effectively December 31, 2006 for Ambac Assurance. Ambac Assurance has adopted this FSP on all new transactions entered into on July 1, 2006 and thereafter. Ambac Assurance is also currently evaluating whether to elect the retrospective application of this FSP.

In July 2006, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation (“FIN”) No. 48 “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes”, an interpretation of SFAS 109. FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an entity’s financial statements in accordance with SFAS 109 “Accounting for Income Taxes”. FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. This Interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. FIN 48 is applicable for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006, with early application encouraged if financial statements, including interim financial statements have not been issued in the period of adoption. Ambac Assurance is currently evaluating the implication of this Interpretation on its financial statements.

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 157, “Fair Value Measurements”. SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in GAAP, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. This statement applies under other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements. SFAS 157 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Earlier application is encouraged, provided that the reporting entity has not yet issued financial statements for that fiscal year, including financial statements for an interim period within that fiscal year. Ambac Assurance is currently evaluating the implications of SFAS 157 on its financial statements. In addition, SFAS 157 supersedes the guidance in EITF 02-3, which prohibited the recognition of day one gains on certain derivative transactions. With the adoption of SFAS 157, any remaining EITF 02-3 reserves will be reflected as a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings.

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 158, “Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans”. SFAS 158 requires employers to recognize the overfunded or underfunded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or

 

20


Ambac Assurance Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

liability in its statement of financial position and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year in which the changes occur through comprehensive income. Employers are required to initially recognize the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan and to provide the required disclosures as of the end of the fiscal year ending after December 15, 2006. SFAS 158 requires prospective application. Ambac Assurance is currently evaluating the implications of SFAS 158 on its financial statements, particularly considering the termination of the pension plan.

The FASB is currently working on a number of amendments to the existing accounting standards governing financial guarantees, asset transfers, securitization, and consolidation. Upon completion of these standards, Ambac Assurance will need to reevaluate its accounting and disclosures.

 

21

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