A Lack of Rigor Costs MBIA

MBIA, the financial insurance company, used to hold itself out as a paragon of hard work and number crunching... "Each transaction guaranteed by MBIA needs to pass a rigorous underwriting process proving no losses will arise under the worst probable case scenario," the company said in a typical investor presentation just three years ago.

It added that its payouts for claims over 32 years came to less than $10,000 a year for every $100 million of insurance it wrote... "We expect," the company added, "to remain at that level or better."

That expectation was wrong...

NYT: A Lack of Rigor Costs MBIA