Financial Services
Buffett Pulls Monoline Bailout Offer
TSC Staff
03/03/08 - 08:44 AM EST
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A Quote - Cramer on BRK.A - Stock Picks) has withdrawn an offer to assume hundreds of billions of dollars of municipal bond obligations from MBIA (MBI Quote - Cramer on MBI - Stock Picks), Ambac (ABK Quote - Cramer on ABK - Stock Picks) and FGIC, the billionaire investor said during a television appearance Monday.
Last month, Buffett offered to reinsure $800 billion of obligations, but none of the firms accepted the proposal.
"We tossed our hat in the ring, and they tossed the hat back,'' Buffett said on CNBC.
When Buffett made the offer public in February, he said that one of the insurers had already rejected the bid. Since then, speculation has emerged that a rescue package will be arranged that will preserve the monolines' capital and their triple-A ratings.