MBIA Inc., the bond insurer suing Bank of America Corp. to recover losses tied to mortgage loans, won a state appeals court ruling that the lender could be required to repurchase securitized loans even if they aren’t in default.

MBIA is entitled to have Bank of America buy back a performing loan that it can prove “materially and adversely” affected its interest, the appeals panel said in a decision today, reversing part of a decision by a lower court.

“Plaintiff is entitled to a finding that the loan need not be in default to trigger defendants’ obligation to repurchase it,” the court said. “There is simply nothing in the contractual language which limits defendants’ repurchase obligations in such a manner.”

The decision stems from MBIA’s lawsuit against Bank of America and its Countrywide Financial unit. MBIA, which sued Countrywide in 2008, guarantees payments to investors that bought securities backed by pools of the lender’s loans. The insurer says the loans were riskier than represented by Countrywide, and as the loans went into default, the Armonk, New York-based company was forced to pay investors.