On February 6, Judge Rakoff of the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of monoline insurer Assured Guarantee Municipal Corp. against Flagstar Bank FSB after presiding over a bench trial seeking damages for breach of loan-level representations and warranties.  Flagstar, a loan originator and RMBS sponsor, contracted for Assured to provide bond insurance on two securitizations of home equity loans totaling approximately $900 million.  Flagstar represented to Assured that at the time of origination the loans complied with Flagstar’s underwriting guidelines, but Judge Rakoff concluded in his findings of fact and conclusions of law, based in large part on expert testimony describing the re-underwriting of loan samples, that Flagstar breached certain of its representations.  Judge Rakoff awarded Assured $90 million in damages.  Findings & Conclusions.