AIG No Longer Beholden to US Government: Benmosche
Special to CNBC.com
"We have actually turned the corner and our crisis is over" and American International Group is no longer beholden to the U.S. government, CEO Robert Benmosche told CNBC Thursday.
He said AIG sold 100 million shares during its most recent stock offering and that "everything else the government is owed is from collateralized portfolios and common stock. We’re done."
The company received a $182 billion bailout from the Treasury Department during the financial crisis and the agency still owns a majority of AIG shares.
AIG reported strong second-quarter earnings thanks to tax benefits and its one-third stake in Asian insurer AIA. Its property-casualty and life insurance businesses declined.
On a day the Dow industrials fell nearly 500 points, Benmoshe said he is "looking at what’s right in this country. We're going through some short-term adjustments right now because of a lack of leadership. Look at our business. We provide guarantees…so that business is doing very well."
He added, "I think we’ll see the economy pull out of this. Next time we come to market we’ll see more strength and Treasury will sell those [AIG] shares and make a profit."