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Posted on 03/09/2009 8:20:56 PM PDT by dennisw
A.I.G. nearly barreled off the cliff last September, when it couldn’t meet its obligations to customers who had bought a version of derivatives called credit default swaps. Such swaps are like insurance policies; bondholders buy them to protect themselves from default on various forms of debt.
When A.I.G. couldn’t meet the wave of obligations it owed on the swaps last fall as Wall Street went into a tailspin, the Federal Reserve stepped in with an $85 billion loan to keep the hobbled insurer from going bankrupt; over all, the government has pledged a total of $160 billion to A.I.G. to help it meet its obligations and restructure operations.
$440 billion in credit default swaps sat on the company’s books before it collapsed. Its biggest customers, European banks and United States investment banks, bought the swaps to insure against defaults on a variety of debt holdings, including pools of mortgages and corporate loans.
Because of the way A.I.G. wrote its swaps, and because the company had a double-A credit rating at the time, it did not have to put up collateral to assure its customers that it would be able to pay on the insurance if necessary. Collateral would be required only if A.I.G.’s credit rating were cut or if the debt underlying the swaps decline
Both of these “unthinkable” events occurred in 2008. Suddenly, A.I.G. had to cough up collateral it didn’t have.
SO, you see, the rescue of A.I.G. also involved a bailout of its many customers, none of whom the insurer or the government is willing to identify.
“the vast majority” of taxpayer funds “have passed through A.I.G. to other financial institutions” as the company unwound deals with its customers.
A.I.G.’s former customers include Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and two large French banks, Société Générale and Calyon.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
no doubt there will be billions siphoned off into private accounts.
AIG will be the last man standing. AIG is the US government. We own 79.9%. Until time comes when the government has the nutsack to say, “It’s every country for themselves!” AIG will not be allowed to fail. We are royally screwed, blewed, and tatooed!
yeow....oh well
You can do the arithmetic on the AIG balance sheet 10k filing at the SEC
http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/displayfilinginfo.aspx?FilingID=6447018-997005-1001924&type=sect&dcn=0000950123-09-003734
They have overstated asset values in the balance sheet, by their own admission, to the tune of $187 BILLION. That is nearly a quarter of their assets.
And that is just what they admit to. Anyone who ever learned to read financial statements should run from this company like a house on fire. AIG is toast.
And that SEC filing is from March 2, to close out 2008. No telling what alchemy they have done so far in 2009. AIG board and executives should go to jail for defrauding the US government and taxpayers. Just declare bankruptcy and let the court sort it out. Thats why we have those laws.
Just curious...
What if we allowed AIG to go under?
Could it set off a real-life demonstration of the domino theory as other companies start to fail too?
AIG: Inquiring Minds Want To Know
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2192527/posts
(AIG & China)
China’s imploding US ally (AIG)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2084468/posts
Top U.S., European Banks Got $50 Billion in AIG Aid
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2201213/posts
What if we allowed AIG to go under?
Could it set off a real-life demonstration of the domino theory as other companies start to fail too?
That's what they say
Other really good people say let AIG go under
Bailing out AIG means that bailout money goes direct to other companies (like Goldman Sachs) that bought bond insurance from AIG stating that if that bond lost value AIG would pay Goldman enough to make Goldman whole again
This bond insurance is called credit default swaps and AIG is too bankrupt to make good on them. So the taxpayers are to keep the dominoes from falling. So the story goes. We could be scammed on this and we are just helping out those who gambled and deserve to go under and that dominoes will not fall
Recently, a friend said that AIG was bailed out because it insures the congressional retirement program. Any confirmation?
AIG is a behemoth. It owns and controls countless subsidiary insurance companies, many of which are actually profitable.
“AIG is a behemoth. It owns and controls countless subsidiary insurance companies, many of which are actually profitable.”
And without its insurance products, many industries that are viable would not be able to survive.
Very, very sad.
Blame credit default swaps for this mess. They are Satanic
AIG has always been a house of ill repute, the whorehouse down the street that everyone knows about but is too big and powerful to shut down.
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