Fitch Strikes Back at MBIA

Fitch Ratings President and CEO Stephen Joynt sent a letter to MBIA on Monday responding to the bond insurer's letter dated March 7 asking that the rating agency withdraw the firm's IFS ratings. In the letter, Joynt said that Fitch is sympathetic to the "financial and operational stress" that MBIA is going through and is willing to continue its ratings without charge to the bond insurer. Joynt also asked for clarification of MBIA's intentions in terms of cooperating with Fitch's rating process. MBIA requested Fitch to return or destroy key portfolio information and discontinue all use of the said information in proceeding with its rating analysis. Joynt questioned MBIA's intentions that were stated in the bond insurers' letter to investors dated March 9. "It would appear that rather than 'work with Fitch' your intention could be to emasculate our opinion by withholding information and subsequently discredit our opinion as being uninformed," Joynt said. Joint questioned whether it is the Fitch capital model, rating process or fees that MBIA objects to or is that MBIA is "aware we are continuing our analytical review and my conclude that , in our view, MBIA's insurer financial strength is no longer 'AAA.'"