Business Changes and Accounting Developments

Summarized below are updates of the most significant recent events that have had, or may have in the future, a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or business prospects of the Company.

Rating Actions

When a rating agency assigns a public rating to a financial obligation guaranteed by one of AGL’s insurance company subsidiaries, it generally awards that obligation the same rating it has assigned to the financial strength of the AGL subsidiary that provides the guaranty. Investors in products insured by AGL’s insurance company subsidiaries frequently rely on ratings published by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) because such ratings influence the trading value of securities and form the basis for many institutions’ investment guidelines as well as individuals’ bond purchase decisions. Therefore, the Company manages its business with the goal of achieving high financial strength ratings. If the financial strength ratings of the Company’s insurance subsidiaries were reduced below current levels, the Company expects it could have adverse effects on its future business opportunities as well as the premiums it could charge for its insurance policies and consequently, a further downgrade could harm the Company’s new business production and results of operations in a material respect. However, the models used by NRSROs differ, presenting conflicting goals that may make it inefficient or impractical to reach the highest rating level. The models are not fully transparent, contain subjective data (such as assumptions about future market demand for the Company’s products) and change frequently. Ratings reflect only the views of the respective NRSROs and are subject to continuous review and revision or withdrawal at any time.

In the last several years, Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”) and Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) have downgraded the financial strength ratings of all the Company’s insurance subsidiaries that they rate. On January 17, 2013, Moody’s downgraded the Insurance Financial Strength ("IFS") rating of AGM to A2 from Aa3, the IFS rating of AGC to A3 from Aa3, and the IFS rating of AG Re to Baa1 from A1. In the same rating action, Moody's also downgraded the senior unsecured debt ratings of AGUS and AGMH to Baa2 from A3. While the outlook for the ratings from S&P and Moody's is stable, there can be no assurance that S&P and Moody's will not take further action on the Company’s ratings. For a discussion of the effect of rating actions on the Company, see the following:


•	Note 5, Expected Loss to be Paid


•	Note 8, Financial Guaranty Contracts Accounted for as Credit Derivatives


•	Note 13, Reinsurance and Other Monoline Exposures


•	Note 15, Long Term Debt and Credit Facilities (regarding the impact on the Company's insured leveraged lease transactions)

Accounting Changes

In 2013, the Company expanded Note 17, Other Comprehensive Income, upon adoption of new guidance on other comprehensive income disclosures.

Significant Transactions

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In First Quarter 2013, under the current authorization, the Company repurchased 1.9 million common shares for $39 million at an average price of $20.46 per share. On May 8, 2013, the Company's board of directors authorized an additional $115 million of repurchases of the Company’s common shares, bringing the total authorization in 2013 to $315 million, of which the Company had repurchased a total of 5.6 million shares for approximately $115 million at an average price of $20.29 per share through May 6, 2013.

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On May 6, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. and affiliates ("UBS") and a third party resolving the Company’s claims and liabilities related to specified residential mortgage-backed securities ("RMBS") transactions that were issued, underwritten or sponsored by UBS and insured by AGM or AGC under financial guaranty insurance policies. See Note 5, Expected Loss to be Paid.