After the closing bell sounded yesterday afternoon, MBIA (NYSE: MBI) stepped into the spotlight to report fourth-quarter earnings. The struggling banking firm saw its fourth-quarter loss shrink to $1.2 billion, or $5.30 per share from last year's fourth-quarter loss of $18.55 per share. This quarter's loss came courtesy of a $1.7-billion and a $532-million loss on insured derivatives. Both of these losses were logged pre-tax. The company's CEO Jay Brown blamed the rough 18-month period on the "worst credit crisis since the Great Depression." Last year was a rough year for MBIA, as the weak housing market lead to many homebuyers and homeowners defaulting on or lagging in their mortgage payments leading to a major problem for MBIA, which insures mortgage bonds. The problem for the banking firm is that the mortgage turmoil is expected to continue.
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