Articles by Steven Church

Detroit Bond Insurer to Judge: Debt Plan Causes ‘Serious Mayhem’

Detroit’s proposal to exit its record municipal bankruptcy by paying retirees more than bond investors will cause “serious mayhem,” an attorney for the plan’s opponents told a judge. Marc Kieselstein, an attorney for bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc., outlined the …

Bond Insurer Syncora Threatens to Cancel Coverage on Detroit Rate Swaps

Syncora Guarantee Inc., the bond insurer fighting Detroit’s debt-cutting plans, said it may cancel insurance it wrote for interest-rate swaps that the city is seeking to terminate with an $85 million settlement. Under a deal announced last month, Detroit would …

San Bernardino Bondholder, Insurer Support Bankruptcy Filing

San Bernardino should be allowed to stay in bankruptcy, bond insurer Ambac Assurance Co. and a bondholder owed $50 million said in court papers opposing other creditors’ efforts to strip the California city of federal court protection. Ambac and Erste …

How Alabama County’s $4.2B Bankruptcy Plan Affects Insurers, Other Debtholders

Jefferson County, Alabama, filed a plan to end the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy later this year by cutting $1.2 billion in principal payments to investors holding defaulted sewer-related debt. Less than $100 million of the county’s $4.2 billion in debt …