When the American taxpayer (i.e you) invested $182 billion in AIG to bail out the financial giant, there was an “absurd” idea that there might be a return on that investment.
However, in a report from the Government Accountability Office, it was stated that that $120 billion is still outstanding and may never be fully recovered. This from an ABC New story:
One year after the biggest corporate bailout in the country’s history, a government watchdog office Monday warned that American taxpayers may not recoup the full $182 billion given to embattled insurance giant American International Group.
In other words, don’t hold your breath on seeing that money. It’s no surprise to see AIG in the position it’s in. After all, as one story said, it’s Financial Products division “dealt in exotic financial engineering instruments.” To a layman, “exotic financial engineering” sounds a lot like “we’re inventing ways to make money.”
Still, the story notes that all is not lost and that efforts continue to be made to turn things around. After all, the company did make $1.8 billion in profit last year (first profit since 2007), though the ABC article says AIG relies heavily on the government for it’s liquidity and capital.
