A man is seen behind the window at the
office of the American International Group (AIG) in lower Manhattan area
in New York's financial district, in this file photo taken on March 9,
2009. Documents turned over to the state of Connecticut attorney general
show that American International Group Inc. paid out over $218 million in
bonuses, more than the previously disclosed $165 million, published
reports said on March 21.(Xinhua/Liu Xin) Photo
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NEW YORK, March 21 (Xinhua) -- American International Group, Inc., a major American insurance corporation that caused outrage by paying out huge bonuses after receiving emergency money from the U.S. government, may have paid more bonuses that previously reported, local media said.
Documents turned over late Friday show AIG paid 218
million dollars in bonuses last weekend, higher than the 165 million dollars
that was previously disclosed, said the office of the attorney general of
Connecticut Richard Blumenthal, who had issued a subpoena.
In March 2009, AIG announced they were paying out 165
million dollars in executive bonuses. Total bonuses for the financial unit could
reach 450 million dollars and bonuses for the entire company could reach 1.2
billion dollars. AIG has become a target of criticism in the media, from
Congress, President Obama, and the public outcry following its allocation of the
bonuses to its executives. AIG CEOs were grilled in both Congress chambers about
the bonuses.
The U.S. Treasury Department is reportedly pushing
ahead with new efforts to help banks. The U.S. government is expected to
announce details next week of a program to subsidize private investors who buy
devalued mortgage-related assets that are at the root of the financial crisis.
A busload of activists representing working- and
middle-class families paid visits Saturday to the lavish homes of AIG executives
to protest the huge amount of bonuses awarded by the struggling insurance
company.
About 40 protesters -- outnumbered by reporters and
photographers from as far away as Germany -- sought to urge AIG executives who
received a portion of the bonuses to do more to help families, the Associated
Press reported.
NEW YORK, March 17
(Xinhua) -- American International Group (AIG), the largest U.S. insurer under
water, has become a public spitting target after it revealed a 165-million-U.S.
dollar bonus package to its executives.
Meanwhile, as details of the scandal were uncovered,
Barack Obama's administration scrambled to assign blame for the payouts. Full story
LOS ANGELES, March 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President
Barack Obama said on Wednesday that the American International Group (AIG)
"offends our values" by paying lavish bonuses to its executives.
"It's hard to understand that a company that is
relying on extraordinary assistance from taxpayers to keep its doors open would
be paying anybody lavish bonuses," Obama said at a town hall-style gathering in
Costa Mesa of Orange County near Los Angeles. Full story
Edward Liddy (L), chief executive
officer of American International Insurance group (AIG), testifies before
the House Financial Services Committee as they hold a hearing on "American
International Group's Impact on the Global Economy: Before, During, and
After Federal Intervention", on Capitol Hill in Washington,the United
States, March 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Yan) Photo
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WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The head of financially troubled insurance
giant American International Group (AIG) on Wednesday called on top-earning
employees to voluntarily return at least half of the bonuses.
Some employees have already stepped forward to give money
back, said Edward Liddy, chairman and chief executive officer of AIG, while
testifying under oath at a congressional hearing. Full story
WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said
Tuesday that the troubled insurance giant American International Group (AIG) is
to pay back the government for hefty bonuses it paid out to its
executives. "We will impose on AIG a contractual
commitment to pay the Treasury from the operations of the company in the amount
of the retention awards just paid," Geithner said in a letter to lawmakers. Full story
WASHINGTON,
March 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to pay
retention bonuses to their executives while the government and Congress are
seeking ways to strip American International Group executives of hefty bonuses.
The government-controlled Fannie Mae plans to pay bonuses
of at least one million dollars to four key executives in an effort to keep
hundreds of employees from leaving the company, according to news reports on
Wednesday. Full story
