New York —
Ratings agencies threatened to downgrade the insurer’s credit rating by Monday morning, allowing counterparties to withdraw capital from their contracts with the company. One person close to the firm said that if such an event occurred, AIG may survive for only 48 hours to 72 hours.
AIG’s sickly financial health emerged late into one of the most tumultuous days in Wall Street history.
It has already raised $20 billion this year. But even that enormous capital raise may not be enough.
Though this past weekend was convened to focus on Lehman, the Wall Street chieftains who gathered at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York also pondered a solution for AIG. The firm had become one of the biggest underwriters of complex debt securities known credit default swaps, used as insurance for a wide range of products, including the mortgage instruments that have been the bane of Wall Street for the past year and a half.
AIG’s stock has fallen 79% over the past year, closing on Friday at $12.14.
Eric Dinallo, the New York state insurance superintendent, has been deeply involved in discussions about AIG’s survival, this person said.
The firm had planned to move $20 billion from its regulated insurance business to its holding company, and to sell assets and a stake in the company to private equity firms. But AIG has ruled out the capital shift because of the time and complexity involved.
But all three withdrew at the last minute, citing anxiousness over the company’s precarious financial health.
AIG’s move of reaching out to the Fed for help may spur other non-investment banks to try a similar move. Companies ranging from
Yet it isn’t clear whether the Fed would acquiesce to AIG’s request.
The firm had earlier been reported to be interested in selling its aircraft leasing business. But people briefed on the matter said that unit bore special tax advantages that AIG had decided would be lost on any other owner.
Source: The New York Times
