ABK Ambac Financial Grp. Common Stock

Ambac Opens Branch Office in Milan, Italy NEW YORK, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABK) today announced that it has opened a branch office of Ambac Assurance UK Limited ("Ambac UK") in Milan, Italy. Vito Semeraro, Managing Director, is in charge of the new office and will be responsible for developing the Italian market, reporting directly to John W. Uhlein, Chairman of Ambac UK. Mr. Uhlein commented, "Our European presence continues to expand as we broaden our market reach both from a product and geographic standpoint. The concept of public/private partnerships, so prevalent in the U.K., is advancing rapidly on the Continent and driving demand for our financial guarantee product. The Milan branch office will allow us to more efficiently serve this important region." Ambac was a leading guarantor of international transactions in 2004, guaranteeing over $20 billion of par and generating $367 million in credit enhancement production. Ambac has provided financial guarantee insurance on a number of Italian transactions including the euro 1.2 billion Aeroporti di Roma and euro 515 million Imser Securitisation srl transactions. Mr. Semeraro joined Ambac in September 2004 from HSBC Bank plc in Milan where he was Managing Director and head of structured finance and capital markets. Prior to HSBC, he was a Managing Director and head of structured finance at Societe Generale in Milan. Ambac Financial Group, Inc., headquartered in New York City, is a holding company whose affiliates provide financial guarantees and financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. Ambac's principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corporation, a leading guarantor of public finance and structured finance obligations, has earned triple-A ratings, the highest ratings available from Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, Fitch, Inc. and Rating and Investment Information, Inc. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol ABK). DATASOURCE: Ambac Financial Group, Inc. CONTACT: Investor/Media Contact: Peter R. Poillon, +1-212-208-3333, Web site: http://www.ambac.com/

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