AIG Says Bailout Terms Were Unfair, Is it Considering a Lawsuit?


AIG has some nerve.

The company, one of the many saved during the mass government bailout of big banks, says that it is considering joining a lawsuit that claims the terms of the bailout were unfair.

Really?

The audacity of the company is not lost upon lawmakers. Former lawmaker Eliot Spitzer, who investigated the company while he was in office, called the mere thought of litigation “an insult to the public,” according to reporting by Reuters.

When things hit the proverbial fan in 2008, the company received a $67.8 billion bailout from the government. When the company repaid its debt to society, the CEO of the company had the gall to say he never received a thank you card for doing what it was supposed to do.

The Hill’s new maverick, Elizabeth Warren, has a seat on the revered banking committee and is the bane of Wall Street. She has called the mere suggestion “outrageous.”

AIG has its work cut out for itself in the quest to redeem the company’s image in the public eye. Officials have started running ads saying thank you during primetime television including an impending spot during the Golden Globes.

“AIG has paid back its debt to America with a profit, and we mean it when we say thank you to the American people,” CEO Bob Benmosche said in a statement.

Still, AIG shareholders felt they got the short end of the stick during the government’s rescue efforts. For more on the perceived selfishness of the company, head to Reuters.


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