As he continues to battle cancer, American International Group’s Robert Benmosche says he will stay on as chief executive until 2012. In a statement, Benmosche, who says he is responding very well to “aggressive chemotherapy,” said he expects to work another 12 to 18 months before retiring. Benmosche took the helm at AIG in August 2009 as the company began selling assets to repay the U.S. government for $182.3 billion in assistance in received in 2008, including $40 billion from Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Meanwhile, the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) latest TARP report noted that AIG's shareholder equity had rebounded to $80.8 billion in the third quarter 2010. Shareholder equity, which involves a company’s ability to successfully adjust to negative financial shocks and prevent insolvency, is calculated by subtracting a company's total liabilities from its total assets.
"As measured by several indicators, AIG's financial condition has generally remained relatively stable or showed signs of improvement since the GAO's last report in April 2010," the report said. "Overall, federal assistance appears to be facilitating a more orderly restructuring of the company."
AIG made its recapitalization official last week—paying back all its obligations to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and converting the U.S. Treasury Department’s preferred stock investment in the firm into common shares, which will be sold to in the open market. As reported in Insurance Networking News, the move signifies termination of the central bank’s concern in the insurer’s interests. The New York Fed accepted $47 billion from a total of $85 billion AIG borrowed and terminated the credit line it extended to AIG as part of the September 2008 bailout.
As part of its reorganization, the company has divested its interest in several operating units. Most of AIG's remaining insurance subsidiaries currently have Best's Financial Strength Ratings of A (Excellent).
