BNY Mellon to Buy Asset Manager from MBIA

Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to buy the fixed-income firm Cutwater Asset Management from MBIA.

The price of the deal was not disclosed. Cutwater, which manages about $23 billion of assets, has an "an impressive performance history" and investment culture similar to BNY Mellon's, according to Curtis Arledge, the chief executive of BNY Mellon.

"Given the unprecedented interest in the fixed-income market at this time, we are excited by the opportunity to expand our investment offerings for clients," Arledge said in a press release

Cutwater would be overseen by Insight Investment, a boutique investment manager owned by BNY Mellon that already competes in the U.S. fixed-income market.

MBIA, a major municipal bond insurer in Armonk, N.Y., has been under pressure because of the sizable municipal bankruptcy in Detroit, and the potential for an even larger ripple in the municipal bond market caused by continued trouble in Puerto Rico. MBIA's stock hit a 52-week low last week.

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