Financial Guaranty Insurance Company

Financial Guaranty Insurance Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Insurance
Founded	1983
Area served	United States
Owner	PMI Group, The Blackstone Group, The Cypress Group, CIVC Partners (since 2003)

Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC) is a U.S.-based monoline bond insurer established in 1983. The firm faced significant financial difficulties in 2008, which constrained its capacity to issue new insurance policies. In December 2003, ownership of FGIC transferred to a group of investors including PMI Group, The Blackstone Group, The Cypress Group, and CIVC Partners.

By March 24, 2009, FGIC experienced a steep downgrade in its credit ratings: Standard & Poor's assigned a "CC" rating, while Moody's Investors Service lowered it to "Caa3". Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings withdrew its rating entirely, with Moody’s intending to follow suit. Both Moody’s and S&P maintained negative outlooks on the company’s creditworthiness.

On November 24, 2009, the New York Insurance Department mandated that FGIC halt all claim disbursements. Subsequently, on June 11, 2012, the company was placed under state rehabilitation.

In April 2014, FGIC independently sought bids concerning the Detroit Institute of Arts collection, despite prior initiatives by the city and philanthropic groups aimed at its preservation. Six months afterward, FGIC and the city of Detroit reached a settlement addressing FGIC’s claims amid the city’s bankruptcy process. This agreement, subject to court approval, included funding from both city and state authorities for demolishing Joe Louis Arena, the former home venue of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. Following the Red Wings’ relocation to Little Caesars Arena in 2017, FGIC obtained ownership of the arena site along with adjacent parking facilities—covering roughly nine acres—for future redevelopment projects.