ASSURED GUARANTY LTD

The Company continually evaluates its business strategies and is currently pursuing key business strategies in four areas: (i) growth of its insurance and asset management businesses; (ii) loss mitigation; (iii) enhancement of investment returns through alternative investments; and (iv) capital management.

Insurance and Asset Management Growth

The Company seeks to grow its core financial guaranty insurance business through new business production in established sectors and jurisdictions and by entering into new markets, lines and classes of business. In addition, the Company seeks to leverage its core credit competencies by expanding its business into revenue streams independent of its financial guaranty insurance business, such as annuity reinsurance through its life and annuity reinsurance platform and its asset management business, with the objective of bolstering net income growth and predictability and generating high-return business opportunities.

Financial Guaranty Insurance Portfolio

The Company seeks to grow its financial guaranty insurance portfolio through new business production in each of its markets: public finance (including infrastructure) and structured finance. The Company believes high-profile defaults by municipal obligors, such as Puerto Rico, Detroit, Michigan and Stockton, California as well as events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have led to increased awareness of the value of bond insurance and stimulated demand for the product. The Company believes there will be continued demand for its insurance in this market because, for those exposures that the Company guarantees, it undertakes the tasks of credit selection, analysis, negotiation of terms, surveillance and, if necessary, loss mitigation. The Company believes that its insurance: (i) encourages retail investors, who typically have fewer resources than the Company for analyzing municipal bonds, to purchase such bonds; (ii) enables institutional investors to operate more efficiently; and (iii) allows smaller, less well-known issuers to gain market access on a more cost-effective basis.

The low interest rate environment and tight U.S. municipal credit spreads from when the financial crisis began in 2008 through early 2020 dampened demand for bond insurance compared with the levels before the financial crisis. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, credit spreads initially widened as a result of market concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on some municipal credits, thereby improving demand for financial guaranty insurance even in a low interest rate environment, before narrowing again in 2022. The Company believes that, over time, wider credit spreads may improve demand for bond insurance.

In certain segments of the non-U.S. infrastructure and global structured finance markets, the Company believes its financial guaranty product is competitive with other financing options. In the infrastructure market, the Company’s financial guaranty can enhance the insured obligation’s rating, lower the cost of long-term funding and enhance the liquidity and transferability of debt obligations. Certain investors may receive advantageous capital requirement treatment with the addition of the Company’s financial guaranty. The Company considers its involvement in both infrastructure and structured finance transactions to be beneficial because such transactions diversify both the Company’s business opportunities and its risk profile beyond U.S. public finance. The timing of new business production in the infrastructure and structured finance sectors is influenced by typically long lead times and therefore production may vary from period to period.

U.S. Municipal Market Data and Bond Insurance Penetration Rates (1)

Based on Sale Date

(1) Source: The amounts in the table are those reported by London Stock Exchange Group. The table excludes private placements and Corporate-CUSIP transactions insured by Assured Guaranty, certain of which the Company also considers to be public finance business.

In addition, the Company considers opportunities to acquire financial guaranty portfolios, whether by acquiring financial guarantors that are no longer actively writing new business or their insured portfolios, generally through reinsurance or novations. These transactions enable the Company to improve its future earnings and deploy excess capital.

The Company seeks to expand its financial guaranty business geographically by entering new markets; in 2024, the Company opened new offices in Australia and Singapore. The Company has recently undertaken, and continues to undertake, several initiatives to broaden its insurance lines and classes of business, and improve the efficiency of its secondary market execution. For example, the Company has enhanced its structured finance new business production by developing fund finance into a flow business line. In addition, the Company is pursuing nonpayment insurance business strategies through internal and/or external growth opportunities.

Life and Annuity Reinsurance

On January 21, 2026, the Company purchased all of the outstanding share capital in Warwick Company (UK) Limited (which is the 100% indirect owner of Assured Life Reinsurance Ltd. (Assured Life Re, f/k/a Warwick Re Limited), for a purchase price of $158 million, subject to certain post-closing adjustments (Assured Life Re Acquisition). Assured Life Re is a Class E long-term (life) reinsurance company incorporated and registered in Bermuda and is rated BBB (Outlook Positive) (1/28/26) by Fitch Ratings, Inc. Assured Life Re focuses on annuity reinsurance including U.K. bulk purchase annuity (pension risk transfers) and U.S. multi-year guaranteed annuity transactions. The Company believes that the acquisition of the Assured Life Re platform will provide it with life and annuity business opportunities that complement its financial guaranty and asset management businesses, are consistent with its risk profile and benefit from its core competencies, including credit enhancement. The Assured Life Re Acquisition represents the Company’s first platform dedicated solely to the life and annuity reinsurance business.

See Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors– Strategic Risks, captioned “The Assured Life Re Acquisition may negatively impact the Company, including how it is perceived by its investors, regulators, rating agencies or obligors it insures, as well as Assured Life Re’s business relationships,” “Entering the life and annuity reinsurance business may present integration risks and other risks specific to the life and annuity reinsurance business that could have a negative effect on the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition,” “Strategic transactions may not result in the benefits anticipated” and “The Company makes assumptions when pricing its life and annuity reinsurance products relating to longevity, mortality, policy lapses, withdrawals, surrenders, investment returns and expenses, and significant deviations in experience could negatively affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.”

The Company continues to investigate additional opportunities in the life and annuity reinsurance business and in other businesses in line with its risk profile and that would benefit from its core competencies.

The Company participates in the asset management business through its ownership interest in Sound Point, and does not directly manage investments for third parties. The Company’s ownership interest in Sound Point furthers its growth strategy of participating in a diversifying fee-based earnings stream independent of the risk-based premiums generated by its financial guaranty business. In addition to its ownership interest in Sound Point, the Company also has in place a letter agreement (Letter Agreement) with Sound Point relating to the Company’s alternative investments portfolio which supports other key strategic initiatives. See “Enhancement of Investment Returns Through Alternative Investments” below. See Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 1. Business and Basis of Presentation and Note 7. Investments and Cash, for a description of the Company’s participation in the asset management business through its ownership interest in Sound Point.

Loss Mitigation

In an effort to avoid, reduce or recover losses and potential losses in its insurance portfolio, the Company employs a number of strategies.

In the public finance area, the Company believes its experience and the resources it is prepared to deploy, as well as its ability to provide bond insurance or other solutions, result in more favorable outcomes in distressed public finance situations than would be the case without its participation. This has been illustrated by the Company’s role in negotiating various agreements in connection with the restructuring of obligations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and various obligations of its related authorities and public corporations, as well as Detroit, Michigan and Stockton, California. For public finance credits, the Company’s surveillance function monitors and proactively engages with the distressed credits to offer assistance aimed to improve operations and financial performance, including access to external consultants and other industry experts.

The Company also, from time to time and where appropriate, participates in litigation to enforce or defend its rights. For example, the Company initiated a number of legal actions to enforce its rights with respect to obligations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and various obligations of its related authorities and public corporations. In addition, the Company successfully defended claims brought by Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) (LBIE) and prevailed in its counterclaim against LBIE; following the exhaustion of LBIE’s appeals, the Company recognized a realized gain on credit derivatives in the first quarter of 2025 of $103 million, which represents the full satisfaction of the judgment it was awarded and its claims for attorneys’ fees, expenses and interest in connection with this litigation. See, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 17. Contingencies, Litigation, for additional information.

The Company may also purchase Loss Mitigation Securities in order to mitigate the economic effect of insured losses. The fair value of Loss Mitigation Securities as of December 31, 2025 (excluding the value of the Company’s insurance) was $140 million.

In July 2025, the Company’s largest BIG exposure in the investment portfolio, which was obtained as part of a loss mitigation strategy, with an aggregate carrying value of $408 million as of June 30, 2025, reached its final resolution after many years of negotiation and was paid down after liquidation of the trust assets. The Company received $459 million in connection with this resolution, including principal, accrued interest and other expected recoveries. This resolution did not have a significant effect on the consolidated statements of operations. Also, in connection with the sale in October 2025 of a commercially leased building that was part of a loss mitigation strategy for a troubled insured exposure, the Company recognized a pre-tax gain of $23 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, and realized a positive inception-to-date internal rate of return on the insured exposure.

The Company is, and for several years has been, working with the servicers of some of the U.S. RMBS transactions it insures to encourage the servicers to provide alternatives to distressed borrowers that will encourage them to continue making payments on their loans to help improve the performance of the related RMBS.

In some instances, the terms of the Company’s financial guaranty policies or the terms of certain workout orders and resolutions give it the option to pay principal on an accelerated basis on an obligation on which it has paid a claim, thereby reducing the amount of guaranteed interest due in the future. The Company has at times exercised this option, which uses cash but reduces projected future losses. The Company may also facilitate the issuance of refunding bonds, by either providing insurance on the refunding bonds or purchasing refunding bonds, or both. Refunding bonds may provide the issuer with payment relief.

Enhancement of Investment Returns Through Alternative Investments

The Company seeks to maintain an investment portfolio that supports the requirements of its insurance subsidiaries, strategic initiatives and liquidity needs, while maximizing the income it earns from such investments. In support of that goal, the Company aims to diversify the types of investments in its portfolio. The Company expects its relationship with Sound Point to enhance its alternative investment opportunities and the return on its investments. The Company has agreed to invest an aggregate amount of $1.5 billion in alternative investments, which includes $1 billion in Sound Point managed investments, subject to certain conditions precedent. See Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 7. Investments and Cash, for a description of the alternative investments agreement with Sound Point.

Capital Management

The Company’s capital management strategy is designed to efficiently allocate and utilize capital across the Assured Guaranty group in order to optimize outcomes for rating agency assessments, regulatory compliance and the Company’s own strategic initiatives and risk management requirements. The Company believes this disciplined approach to capital management supports the long-term stability and strength of Assured Guaranty, enabling it to advance its financial guaranty, asset management and annuity reinsurance businesses, and other corporate strategies. Assured Guaranty seeks to enhance financial flexibility and resiliency by proactively managing its capital and aligning resources with its business objectives and stakeholder interests.

From 2013 through February 25, 2026, the Company has repurchased 157 million common shares for $5.9 billion, representing 81% of the total shares outstanding at the beginning of the repurchase program in 2013. On August 6, 2025 and November 5, 2025, the Board authorized the repurchase of an additional $300 million and $100 million, respectively, of the Company’s common shares. As of February 25, 2026, the remaining amount the Company was authorized to purchase was $204 million of its common shares. Shares may be repurchased from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The timing, form and amount of the share repurchases under the program are at the discretion of management and will depend on a variety of factors, including funds available at the parent company, other potential uses for such funds, market conditions, the Company’s capital position, legal requirements and other factors. The repurchase program may be modified, extended or terminated by the Board at any time and it does not have an expiration date. See Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 18. Shareholders’ Equity, for additional information about the Company’s repurchases of its common shares.

Summary of Share Repurchases

(1) Excludes commissions.

As of December 31, 2025, the estimated accretive effect of the cumulative repurchases of common shares since the beginning of 2013 was approximately: $68.77 per share in shareholders’ equity attributable to AGL, $69.94 per share in adjusted operating shareholders’ equity and $116.18 per share in adjusted book value (ABV).

Over the last several years, the Company has received approval from its insurance regulators to redeem a portion of its insurance subsidiaries’ stock and pay extraordinary dividends from its insurance subsidiaries. Most recently, in the third quarter of 2025, after receiving approval from the MIA, AG redeemed $250 million of its common stock from AGMH in exchange for $213 million in cash and $37 million in alternative investments.

The Company considers the appropriate mix of debt and equity in its capital structure. The Company may in the future choose to issue new debt or redeem or purchase its existing debt. See “— Liquidity and Capital Resources — AGL and its U.S. Holding Companies.”