Also see: Money Monday: Goldman Sachs' Gold Mine
Somehow I knew they were at the bottom of this.
"AIG may be allowed to grant raises to some of its top-paid executives" by Hugh Son and Ian Katz, Bloomberg News | March 3, 2010
NEW YORK - American International Group, the bailed-out insurer, may be allowed by the US paymaster to boost salaries for some of its highest-compensated executives, two people with knowledge of the matter said....
“[Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration special master for executive compensation] realizes that to retain talent, you can’t be as confining as they were last year,’’ said Jeanne Branthover, of Boyden Global Executive Search Ltd....
I'm so sick of that excuse justifying looting.
In October, Feinberg instituted a $500,000 base salary cap for most employees of AIG, which is majority owned by the government after a bailout.
I'm sure they are really hurting.
Exceptions were made for those considered essential to AIG’s success, including chief executive Robert Benmosche, 65, and Peter Hancock, the former chief financial officer of a predecessor to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Benmosche secured a salary of $3 million in cash and $4 million in stock last year. Hancock, who oversees finance and risk, is getting $1.5 million in cash and $2.4 million in stock, AIG said.
More than 60 managers have left AIG since its 2008 rescue, including general counsel Anastasia Kelly, who told Fortune magazine that her $900,000 base salary would have been slashed to $500,000 and that she might have jeopardized a severance payment if she stayed.
THEN LEAVE! Taxpayers can use the relief!
“While we can pay the vast majority of people competitively, on occasion, these restrictions and his decisions have yielded outcomes that make little business sense,’’ Golub said of Feinberg. “In some cases we are prevented from providing market competitive compensation to retain some of our most experienced and best executives. This hurts the business and makes it harder to repay the taxpayers.’’
They are f***ing sickening.
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Oh, and look where some of that bailout dough is going for:
"AIG units settle discrimination case" by Associated Press | March 5, 2010
WASHINGTON - Two subsidiaries of American International Group have agreed to pay $7.1 million to settle discrimination allegations of charging higher fees to African-American borrowers, the Justice Department said....
So they were RACISTS, too, huh?
"Upbeat reports overcome dour AIG results
Markets eked out a small gain as reports showing business activity expanded and GDP topped estimates overshadowed AIG’s 10 percent plunge on a fourth-quarter loss and home sales that missed projections. JPMorgan Chase led banks higher after Barclays PLC recommended buying the shares. ‘It’s a very brittle recovery,’ one money manager opined.
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Time to start selling off assets:
American International Group is selling a cornerstone of its business, Asia-based life insurer AIA Group, in a government-approved $35.5 billion deal. The sale to British insurer Prudential PLC could reduce by nearly one-fifth the amount of federal bailout money still invested in struggling AIG.
But (clink) officials and analysts say it’s not clear whether taxpayers will recoup all the money AIG drew from a $182.5 billion rescue package the government committed to at the height of the 2008 credit crisis. In return for that package, the government received a nearly 80 percent stake in the insurer.
And later on they try to tell you the bailout is benefiting you, taxpayers!
The sale is another step in AIG’s ongoing attempt to restructure its business, become profitable, and repay the government. Exactly how it plans to do that remains unclear.
The AIA deal will give AIG $25 billion in cash and $10.5 billion in securities. The cash portion would allow AIG to pay back nearly 20 percent of the almost $130 billion in bailout funds that are outstanding. Together with an anticipated sale of American Life Insurance Co., or Alico, to MetLife Inc., the sale could net enough to cover the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s $47.9 billion investment in AIG.
AIG’s debt to the government also includes $47.3 billion owed the US Treasury and $34.5 billion in outstanding assistance tied to the value of investments the New York Fed bought to prop up AIG. A Treasury official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said it’s not yet clear whether all the taxpayer money will be returned. The official asked not to be identified because AIG’s future is still undecided.
Many analysts are skeptical all the funds will be returned.
“It’s probable we are not going to get our money back,’’ said Bill Bergman, Morningstar analyst. “There’s a sense of lost confidence that has affected business operations as well as their value in the market place.’’
On Friday, New York-based AIG reported an $8.87 billion fourth-quarter loss due in part to weakness in its insurance businesses.
You got taken to the cleaners, America.
AIG has been working for the past year and a half to sell assets and streamline operations to help repay its debt....
Last month, MetLife confirmed that it was in talks with AIG to buy Alico. Treasury officials said AIG is very close to announcing a deal worth about $15 billion. The expected $15 billion for Alico along with the $35.5 billion from the AIA deal will be more than enough to pay the $47.9 billion owed to the New York Fed. The Treasury won’t be repaid until after the Fed is made whole, Treasury officials said.
Well, YOU SEE the PECKING ORDER there, 'eh, U.S. taxpayers?
So when are you going to be made whole?
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Federal Aid For Flood a Washout
Oh, not what government is for, huh?
So why are you not getting paid back, America?
"AIG to sell another unit, for $15.5b" by New York Times | March 8, 2010
NEW YORK - American International Group agreed yesterday to sell a second major insurance unit, this one to MetLife for about $15.5 billion, people briefed on the matter said. It was the second deal the insurer has struck in one week, raising about $51 billion to repay its taxpayer-financed rescue.
Except the FED gets it FIRST!
Even after wiping away $51 billion of debt, AIG will owe roughly $50 billion to the government.
As if it is going to the government! Sigh!
That amount is likely to keep growing, because the government made large sums available - $182 billion in a number of forms - when it came to the rescue. The company has not drawn down that full amount, but every few months it taps a billion or two billion more.
Un-flipping-real!
So AIG has a BILLION-DOLLAR SLUSH FUND to PLAY WITH, 'eh?
And they AIN'T REPAYING S*** despite what this MSM promotion piece is telling you!
The boards of both companies met yesterday and approved the sale of the AIG unit, the American Life Insurance Co., known as Alico, the people said. The deals involve selling what the insurance giant has called its crown jewels, leaving it with no obvious pieces to sell to raise cash to pay the rest of the debt. If the company continues to draw on government aid, it will have to make the value of its businesses grow faster.
We are NEVER SEEING THAT MONEY!
“There’s a lot going on and it’s still uncertain,’’ said Bill Bergman, a senior equity analyst at the market research company Morningstar. He said the company’s revenue, in the form of insurance premiums, seemed to have stabilized in the fourth quarter.
But (another nickel) he said it’s hard to know how profitable the new insurance policies written by the company will be. The business is considered soft at the moment.
For MetLife, the acquisition of Alico will give it instant access to dozens of international markets. Alico operates in more than 50 countries, with its largest operations in Japan and Britain.
Well, I'm glad their globalist agenda is working out for them.
"AIG says $15.5b sale of Alico is a go" by Associated Press | March 9, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - American International Group will sell its American Life Insurance Co. division for $15.5 billion to MetLife Inc., AIG confirmed yesterday.
The government-approved deal, AIG’s second big asset sale in two weeks, will give the insurer more cash to repay the billions of bailout dollars it still owes to the government.
Why the distortions?
And why the second-day repetition?
The purchase expands MetLife’s presence in Japan and in high-growth markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. American Life, known as Alico, operates in more than 50 countries. MetLife currently offers services in 17 countries. As of Dec. 31, AIG owed the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York nearly $130 billion. Its bailout was originally worth up to $182.5 billion....
Of which they keep tapping a couple billion here, couple of billion there....
The Alico deal, while good for MetLife, carries some risk, said Aite Group senior analyst Clark Troy. “Japan is an aging society, and MetLife may face challenges growing revenue,’’ Troy said....
Oh, now I'm really worried about them.
As the largest recipient of taxpayer bailout dollars, AIG remains under the supervision of Treasury and the New York Fed. All negotiations around Alico and AIA were monitored by representatives from Treasury and the New York Fed, the agencies said.
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Government might as well be running the f***ing thing.
"Treasury adds directors to AIG board" by Bloomberg News | April 2, 2010
The size of AIG’s board is increasing as the insurer raises funds to repay its $182.3 billion bailout that gave the government a majority stake in the company. Treasury was allowed to add directors after AIG skipped dividend payments on the government’s holdings for four quarters....
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And now they are getting out?
"Government weighs strategy for exiting AIG; Officials consider two-year sale of common shares" by Hugh Son, Bloomberg News | April 23, 2010
NEW YORK — The federal government, majority owner of American International Group after rescuing the insurer in 2008, is considering a two-year plan to dispose its stake, said a person with knowledge of the discussions.
The proposal involves converting preferred stock into common shares for sale on the open market, said the person, who declined to be identified because talks with AIG are private. If the New York-based firm consents to the strategy and there is sufficient investor demand, the Treasury Department plan could be announced as early as the fourth quarter, the person said. The Treasury has invested about $47 billion in the insurer.
“You don’t want to dump shares all at once into the market, you want to do it in an orderly way so the market can digest them,’’ said Charles Calomiris, a finance professor at Columbia Business School in New York. “It’s looking like taxpayers are going to get more of their money back.’’
Yaaaaaay!
I'd rather they never got it in the first place.
The timetable of one year to two years for disposals reflects the fact that the federal government owns almost 80 percent of AIG from the September 2008 bailout, in addition to preferred shares obtained in subsequent rescues. Treasury will probably convert and sell preferred shares in increments to remain below that threshold, the person said. A holding of more than 80 percent could force the insurer to change accounting and require the government to put AIG on its balance sheet.
Yeah, never mind the criminal cooking of the books, either.
The plan may depend on completion of the division sales and was designed so that AIG can maintain an A credit grade, the person said....
Un-flipping-real!!!
Yeah, but f*** yours, Americans!
Downgrades could force the insurer to post more collateral to trading partners or discourage commercial or individual clients from buying policies.
Yeah, don't screw the investment insurance company -- just f*** over nations.
Isn't that what they are doing to Europe?
If US sales of AIG shares succeed, the firm may issue preferred shares to private investors to raise funds to redeem Treasury holdings, the person said. The Treasury named two directors this year to AIG’s board because the company skipped dividend payments on preferred shares for four quarters.
AIG has surged 36 percent in New York trading this year through midweek, as the company’s holdings rebounded and investors bet that there will be value remaining for common shareholders after taxpayers are repaid....
Why do they keep repeating that lie?
Because they know how angry we are?
AIG’s rescue package is valued at $182.3 billion, which includes a $60 billion Federal Reserve credit line, as much as $69.8 billion in Treasury assistance and $52.5 billion to buy mortgage-linked assets that were owned or backed by the company.
Gee, the numbers always grow, don't they? Pfft!
“The question is, how much value is really there,’’ said William Poole, a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The Treasury’s plan for AIG is “encouraging, because they need to get out from under the government,’’ he said. Taxpayers stand to lose about $30 billion from the bailout of AIG, the Government Accountability Office said in December.
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