Longtime board member resigns from MBIA board

John A. Rolls, a longtime member of bond insurer MBIA Inc.'s board has resigned, ending a 14-year reign, the company said Monday.

Company spokeswoman Elizabeth James offered no further details on the reasons behind the decision.

Rolls joined MBIA's board in 1995, and served on its finance, audit and compensation and organization committees.

He retired as president and CEO of Thermion Systems International in 2007, according to a biography on MBIA's Web site. Prior to his position there, he worked as president and CEO of Deutsche Bank North America, chief financial officer for United Technologies Corp. and CFO of RCA Corp.

Rolls could not be reached for comment.

For the past month, MBIA has been mired in a legal battle with a group of 18 financial institutions, who claim that the company fraudulently separated its businesses early this year, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

A group of U.S. and foreign banks _ including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Barclays PLC and UBS AG _ filed the lawsuit in New York state court in mid-May, the paper reported.

MBIA split its operations during the first quarter to separate its traditional municipal bond insurance business from the riskier operations that had led to five consecutive quarterly losses.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the banks believe MBIA Insurance is now undercapitalized and will not be able to write new insurance.

Shares of Armonk, N.Y.-based MBIA fell 52 cents, or 10.5 percent, to close at $4.42.