Bermuda-based bond reinsurer Ram Holdings Ltd. said it is considering delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and is not seeking to write any new business in the near term.

The comments came on Friday as the company announced a $55.8 million loss for the fourth quarter of last year and a $159.5 million loss for the year.

Ram said it had written no new business this year and was seeking to negotiate termination of reinsurance agreements, where possible.

It intends to reduce its reinsurance exposures and preserve capital after its ratings were cut last year to A+ by Standard & Poor's and Baa3 by Moody's.

Last year Ram commuted its entire portfolios of business with both US bond insurance giant MBIA and Bermuda-based Syncora Holdings.

Ram paid more than $250 million to the two companies to cut its exposures by a total of more than $14 billion.

Many companies in the financial guaranty industry struggled last year through their guaranteeing investments backed by US residential mortgages, amid a housing slump.

Ram said de-listing and de-registering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission would help the company to save money. It has asked Moody's to stop rating the company to further cut costs.

"If we de-list and de-register, we would no longer file annual, quarterly and current reports or proxy statements with the SEC," Ram said in a statement. "We estimate that these actions will reduce our expenses by at least $2 million per year, although the full effect of this cost savings is not expected until 2010."

Ram said its total assets at the end of last year were $574.3 million a fall of $286 million, or 33.2 percent, from a year earlier, primarily due to the commutation payments to MBIA and Syncora.

Shareholders' equity of $89.4 million was $162.9 million or, 64.6 percent, below the level at the end of 2007. Book value per share is $3.28.

Shares of Ram plunged 27 percent to $0.20 after the earnings statement was released on Monday morning.