A.I.G. Says It Needs 3 to 5 Years to Restructure

NYT ^ | 05/14/09 | EDMUND L. ANDREWS

[TigerLikesRooster]

A.I.G. Says It Needs 3 to 5 Years to Restructure

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS

WASHINGTON — Edward M. Liddy, the chairman of American International Group, said on Wednesday that the company would probably need “three to five years” to carry out its restructuring plan and repay the taxpayer money used to bail it out.

AIG, once the nation’s biggest insurance conglomerate, has received more than $170 billion from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury since it collapsed in September.

The Treasury owns almost 80 percent of the voting shares. The Fed and Treasury have provided the company with about $83 billion in loans, and the Treasury has provided an additional $30 billion credit line. On top of that, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has purchased tens of billions of dollars worth of its toxic assets and is holding them in two “special purpose vehicles.”

[TigerLikesRooster]

I suppose that high inflation would kick in at some point and render the inflation adjusted value of $170 billion to a fraction of what it was, maybe, 1%($1.7 billion.)

Yep, they can pay back the bailout money for sure, if government and Fed do their part with printing press.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Adder]

Stupid question:

Where did the money actually go? 170 billion: who got it and for what?

Same with the other banks...Citi got 38 billion, I believe. Some entity got the money unless Citi is sitting on it. Do we know where it went?

[FatherofFive]

Years?!?!?

zer0bama could do it with a focus group meeting in two days. /s

[TurtleUp]

I already spent $170B to keep them open for three extra months. I’m not sure why that was worth even $1 from my tax dollars, but I’m certain that I can’t afford 3-5 years of supporting Obama/Pelosi’s friends at AIG.

[org.whodat]

If you count the funny money trade at the fed it is really more like 280 billion, PUT THE POS CORPORATION on the auction block, after that confiscate all the assets of anyone that was paid more than the lowest paid sectary..

We the tax payers will still be in the hole.

[org.whodat]

If you count the funny money trade at the fed it is really more like 280 billion, PUT THE POS CORPORATION on the auction block, after that confiscate all the assets of anyone that was paid more than the lowest paid sectary..

We the tax payers will still be in the hole.

[DonaldC]

I say give them 3 months, like the auto-makers got.

[HamiltonJay]

3-5 years to restructure, or 30 to 90 days to liquidate! Stop bailing them out let the system fail and let the survivors and those that did it right and new players build up a stronger sytem from its ashes!

Why the hell we are propping up a corrupt and failed system is beyond any sort of logic, other than its rich and powerful players who are going to see their world go away.

[org.whodat]

Three months to liquidate, then we start the perp walks.

[SoldierDad]

Hoping to be able to feed off the public trough for the next 3 to 5 years (3 if Obama is not re-elected - 5 if he is)?

[Arguendo]

Yeah, screw the law, due process, and all that other crap.

[Roy Tucker]

Adder,

It went to other financial institutions for the most part. AIG was on the wrong end of a lot of trades as they underwrote Credit Default Swaps on a lot of the securitized real estate and other assets.

Goldman got a lot as did other big market players. You could argue that Hank Paulson bailed AIG to help GS along, his former firm.

This does not come as a shock to me because once the Government decided to bail out AIG, it had to use the money to settle its trades or the whole system flopped over. At this point, I am of the view that we should have let it flop and rebuild. It is very clear that we need a new financial system rather than the rubber bands and chewing gum (and trillions of taxpayer dollars) that are holding the old one together.

RT