ֳ

Rating Action Commentary

ֳ Places 3,375 XLCA-Insured Issues on Rating Watch Negative

Wed 12 Dec, 2007 - 6:09 PM ET

ֳ-New York-12 December 2007: Concurrent with its related rating announcement earlier today on XL Capital Assurance Inc. (XLCA), ֳ has placed 3,375 municipal bond issues insured by XLCA on Rating Watch Negative.

ֳ placed the 'AAA' insurer financial strength (IFS) rating of XLCA on Rating Watch Negative due to the company's exposure to structured finance CDOs backed by subprime mortgage collateral. ֳ also placed 19 non-municipal bonds on Rating Watch Negative as a result of this action.

A detailed list of the affected municipal bond issues is available on the ֳ web site at '' in the 'U.S. Public Finance' sector page under 'Special Reports'.

Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0278.

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