AIG names recipients of its bailout money

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CNN

Troubled insurance giant AIG, already under fire for intending to pay out $165 million in bonuses and compensation, succumbed Sunday to congressional pressure, identifying banks that received chunks of the company's billions in federal bailout funds last year.

AIG, a recipient of at least $170 billion in federal bailout money , got an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve. The list released Sunday of "counterparties" that benefited from the bailout is topped by European banks Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank, which received $4.1 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.

Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch round out the top four, receiving $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.

In releasing the list, AIG said it "recognizes the importance of upholding a high degree of transparency with respect to the use of public funds," in a statement.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/15/AIG.banks.list/index.html

[Frank Booth]

1. Here's the full list (of disclosed entities) from a comment on the NY Times:

Since the New York Times didn’t aggregate the data, I did it myself. The numbers in parentheses are the amounts received as listed in attachments A (CDS), B (buying securities underlying CDS), and D (securities lending agreements):

$12.9B Goldman Sachs (2.5/5.6/4.8)
$12.0B Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (7.0/2.3/7.6)
$5.2B Bank of America (0.2/0.5/4.5)
$6.8B Merrill Lynch (6.8/1.8/3.1)
$11.9B Societe Generale (4.1/6.9/0.9)
$11.8B Deutsche Bank (2.6/2.8/6.4)
$8.5B Barclays (0.9/0.6/7.0)
$5.0B UBS (0.8/2.5/1.7)
$4.9B BNP Paribas (0.0/0.0/4.9)
$3.5B HSBC Bank (0.2/0.0/3.3)
$3.3B Calyon (1.1/1.2/0.0)
$2.3B Citigroup (0.0/0.0/2.3)
$2.2B Dresdner Kleinwort (0.0/0.0/2.2)
$1.6B JPMorgan/Morgman Stanley (0.6/0.0/1.0)
$0.4B JPMorgan (0.4/0.0/0.0)
$1.2B Morgan Stanley (0.2/0.0/1.0)
$1.5B Wachovia (0.7/0.8/0.0)
$1.5B ING (0.0/0.0/1.5)
$1.1B Bank of Montreal (0.2/0.9/0.0)
$1.0B Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank (0.0/1.0/0.0)
$0.8B Rabobank (0.5/0.3/0.0)
$0.7B Royal Bank of Scotland (0.2/0.5/0.0)
$0.7B DZ Bank (0.7/0.0/0.0)
$0.5B KFW (0.5/0.0/0.)
$0.3B Banco Santander
$0.4B Dresdner Bank AG (0.0/0.4/0.0)
$0.4B Credit Suisse (0.0/0.0/0.4)
$0.2B Citidel (0.0/0.0/0.2)

$38.8B US Banks
$50.2B Foreign Banks
$12.0B Municipal Bonds
$84.0B Unaccounted for

— Posted by Devil's Advocate

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/aig-discloses-counterparties-who-received-224-billion/#comment-204531

[UpInArms]

2. my money does the hanky panky!

who is Hank Paulson?

Since taking office, Paulson has overseen the destruction of three of Goldman Sachs’ rivals. In March, Paulson helped arrange the fire sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase. Then, a little more than a week ago, he allowed Lehman Brothers to collapse, while simultaneously organizing the absorption of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America. This left only Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as major investment banks, both of which were converted on Sunday into bank holding companies, a move that effectively ended the existence of the investment bank as a distinct economic form.

In the months leading up to his proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Paulson had already used his office to dole out hundreds of billions of dollars. After his July 2008 proposal for $70 billion to resolve the insolvency of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed, Paulson organized the government takeover of the two mortgage-lending giants for an immediate $200 billion price tag, while making the government potentially liable for hundreds of billions more in bad debt. He then organized a federal purchase of an 80 percent stake in the giant insurer American International Group (AIG) at a cost of $85 billion.

These bailouts have been designed to prevent a chain reaction collapse of the world economy, but more importantly they aimed to insulate and even reward the wealthy shareholders, like Paulson, primarily responsible for the financial collapse.

Paulson bears a considerable amount of personal responsibility for the crisis.

Paulson, according to a celebratory 2006 BusinessWeek article entitled “Mr. Risk Goes to Washington,” was “one of the key architects of a more daring Wall Street, where securities firms are taking greater and greater chances in their pursuit of profits.” Under Paulson’s watch, that meant “taking on more debt: $100 billion in long-term debt in 2005, compared with about $20 billion in 1999. It means placing big bets on all sorts of exotic derivatives and other securities.”

According to the International Herald Tribune, Paulson “was one of the first Wall Street leaders to recognize how drastically investment banks could enhance their profitability by betting with their own capital instead of acting as mere intermediaries.” Paulson “stubbornly assert Goldman’s right to invest in, advise on and finance deals, regardless of potential conflicts.”

Paulson then handsomely benefited from the speculative boom. This wealth was based on financial manipulation and did nothing to create real value in the economy. On the contrary, the extraordinary enrichment of individuals like Paulson was the corollary to the dismantling of the real economy, the bankrupting of the government, and the impoverishment of masses the world over.

Paulson was compensated to the tune of $30 million in 2004 and took home $37 million in 2005. In his career at Goldman Sachs he built up a personal net worth of over $700 million, according to estimates.

After Paulson’s ascension to the treasury, his colleagues at Goldman Sachs carried on the bonanza. At the end of 2006, Paulson’s successor Lloyd Blankfein was handed over a $53.4 million year-end bonus, while 11 other Goldman Sachs executives raked in $150 million in year-end bonuses combined. That year, the top investment firms Goldman Sacks, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and Bear Stearns handed out $36 billion in bonuses. At the end of 2007, the executives of the same firms, excepting Merrill, were handed another $30 billion.

[truedelphi]

34. Paulson has also been named as the mastermind behind the notion

That the bets, er investments, that were made along the lines of SIV's, CDO's etc could be leveraged thirty to forty times. That concept is what has brought about the destruction of the Global Economy. Had each lousy package of sub prime mortgages been bet for or/ against only once, the entire calamity would be a much more damage-controllable size.

[unkachuck]

3. 50.2 billion dollars....

....of US taxpayer money, money we'll never see again, went to FOREIGNERS to cover bad gambling debts; not much stimulating liquidity in that....and 84.0 billion dollars 'unaccounted for'?

....'unaccounted for'?....what does 'unaccounted for' mean?....congressional campaign contributions for all who voted for the bailout scam?....new yachts and mansions for the AIG executives, spouses and children?....top-quality hookers for everyone making over $250000 a year?....Swiss banks accounts? (to help the Swiss banks survive, of course)....I know, presidential libraries!....could it be the mysterious 8 billion dollar bremmer-black-hole phenomena at work here?

....American people, you're idiots....why do you put up with this shyster system?....how many times must you be fucked by these capitalists and their corporations before you say enough?....is there something mentally wrong with you people?

[Demeter]

4. thank you! Nice to know where all the bailout went.

[No Elephants]

39. Well, except for the $84 billion that's still unaccounted for.

[saigon68]

13. Looks like Cartel Payments to drug suppliers?

[chimpymustgo]

14. 84 fucking billion UNACCOUNTED for???? WTF?????

[spamlet2002]

18. what's with the $84b unaccounted for?

geithner better get stepping

[Psephos]

5. German and French banks got $36 billion from AIG Bailout

Source: Business Week

We officially moved into the next stage of the crisis today. AIG, likely under pressure from the administration, decided to come clean about where most of the bailout money was going. In a press release with several attachments, the struggling insurer detailed which counterparties had gotten about $100 billion of the bailout funds.

I added up the various lists provided by AIG by country (see below), and the results were quite revealing. About $44 billion went to counterparties headquartered in the U.S., such as Goldman Sachs and states such as California and Virginia.

But as I expected, the majority of the funds—$58 billion—went to banks headquartered outside the U.S. The big winners were French and German banks, which pulled in $19 billion and $17 billion respectively. To put these numbers in perspective, remember that the U.S. fiscal stimulus bill passed in February provided only $27.5 billion for highway and bridge construction.

In effect, the U.S. Treasury and Fed have been bailing out the rest of the world, to a massive degree. Is this a good thing? Perhaps.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2009/03/german_and_fren.html

[w4rma]

6. Is this a good thing? Perhaps not. (nt)

[Mr. Hyde]

7. Oh, it just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

I can't wait to see what happens next.

[Skink]

8. Society General probably needed it.

what with those rogue traders.

[OneBlueSky]

9. maybe it's just me . . . but the notion of foreign banks receiving tens of billions . . .

of dollars while tens of millions of Americans are without healthcare, millions more are losing their homes to predatory lenders, American jobs continue to be offshored to countries like India, and much of the city of New Orleans still lies in ruins is -- well -- infuriating . . .

if saving French and German banks is more important than saving the lives and livlihoods of hard-working American citizens, then something is very, very, very wrong . . .

[Demeter]

10. The Thing Is, the US Financiers Created These Frauds

and sold them to the world. The Head of AIG in London who sank the company was an American Business school graduate. The US government and elite is in fact responsible, by doing no regulation or oversight, for the mess that the world economy is in.

The missing link is that the criminals are still walking around unindicted. I'm expecting that will change, and that regulation will return to the financial world.

Asset-stripping of the crooks is our best hope. And highly progressive taxes on the rich.

[mbperrin]

16. Well, gosh, the real truth is, I don't feel the slightest sympathy for the

"naive" or "infant" investors in other countries that succumbed to American con men.

Millions of Americans who took the con of ARMS are losing their homes, and there's a big "so what"?

Millions of Americans are losing their jobs and pensions and healthcare, and there's a big "so what"?

Millions of students are losing their chance at higher education, and there's a big "so what"?

As long as greedy con men are paid and their "victims" reimbursed, both from my pocket and yours, I have to say "WTF"?

Truth is, risk sometimes leads to loss, and when investing in phony financial instruments is less risky than buying a home for your family, working at a job, or getting an education, there's a real problem.

[Mr. Hyde]

21. yeah, it kind of makes you sick to your stomach when you think about it

especially if you've spent any significant amount of time researching what our founding fathers had to say about banking institutions.

[BelgianMadCow]

36. well...AIG was insuring risks taken by all banks worldwide

and when things go south they have to pay out the insurance.

I'm sure there was and is significant pressure on the US government to allow bailout of foreign entities. If the US wouldn't comply...well the US has been bankrupt for a long time if it wouldn't be for the faith of the rest of the world that the US is something special. I think that faith was wearing real thin.

The G20 come april 2nd is gonna show the new balance... we live in interesting times.

PS: I'm not posting against your sentiment - tax dollars of any worker anywhere cover gambling losses infuriate me as well.
I just don't like the "them or us" attitude. It's one boat, really. Not for long anymore I fear.

[No Elephants]

38. Insuring people against their own bad decisions is not a business anyone should be in. Accidents,

acts of God, yes. Your own bad gambling, no.

I'm planning to go Vegas and play high stakes. Anyone want to insure me against my losses? Do I hear a "yes" from anyone other than AIG?

That's what we're bailing out, folks. The gamblers and those who insured them against their own losses.

[Kalyan]

11. just giving a perspective on $36 bn ...

There are 52 countries whose total external debt to-date is over $36 bn. South Africa has the highest external debt amongst African countries ($40 bn) followed by Sudan & Egypt ($29 bn). Maybe the $175 bn would have been enough to erase the entire external-debt of Africa.

We are in the midst of truly historic times - Corp greed eroding nation's wealth!

[Belial]

12. WTF is going on in Washington??

Maybe NOW we will get some oversight..

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AngryAmish]

15. I'm just glad there are no Goldman Sachs or Citibank criminals in the current administration

[MrPerson]

19. I don't see what's wrong here - insurance companies pay claims

Some of them are to foreign banks.

The executive bonuses are another story.

[No Elephants]

40. Please see Posts ## 10, 34 and 38. The whole thing is a

freaking racket, from those who granted sub-prime mortgages to those who bought them to those who sold securities based on them to those who insured all of the foregoing.

[alfredo]

20. Now name those receiving their failure bonuses.

[RedCloud]

22. AIG ships billions in bailout abroad

Source: Yahoo news via Politico

Billions of American taxpayer dollars used to bailout insurance giant AIG are flowing to some of the largest foreign banks in the world, according to new documents released by beleaguered company Sunday.

The revelation seemed sure to cause political complications for President Barack Obama and his economic team, already on the defensive Sunday over why they couldn’t stop AIG from doling out $165 million in bonuses to some of its top corporate officials – even as the company was receiving a massive infusion of taxpayer funds.

The documents AIG released account for some of the more than $180 billion in aid that AIG has received, and they detailed for the first time which financial firms are benefitting from the federal handout.
In all, AIG disclosed payments of $105.3 billion between September and December 2008. And some of the biggest recipients were European banks. Societe Generale, based in France, was the top foreign recipient at $11.9 billion, Deutsche Bank of Germany got $11.8 billion and Barclays, based in England, was paid $8.5 billion.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090316/pl_politico/20039

---

While we are being sent on a fishing expedition to cry about AIG's $150 million bonuses, the money is being sent to foreign banks in Germany, England and France in much larger amounts

[babylonsister]

23. Wasn't that the whole point of bailing AIG out?

I thought if they tanked, so would the world economy.

[RedCloud]

24. What did their citizens pay out?

I understand the banking crisis is international, but those three countries are not exactly helpless.

[babylonsister]

25. I have no idea. But I recall that was the justification for bailing out AIG. nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

26. isnt AIG just paying what AIG owes to these banks?

[RedCloud]

28. I wish I had the answer to that.

I could get the answer from well connected personal sources, but they would be compromised. The bailout does traverse national boundaries, so it would, I presume, be in the interest of other places to lend their helping hands, if they have not already.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

30. i dont think this is an issue of lending a helping hand as much as paying up for what they insured

[Hav]

37. That's what I heard as well.

It's not sympathy from AIG for other banks to make these payments. They have to do so because of the contracts they have with these banks. But basically it's true that all these foreign banks are helped by the American taxpayers. While one could ask, why those countries don't pay it themselves to spare AIG and the US the cost, the citizens of these countries might ask why they should have to pay the money that AIG is bound to pay by law.
I really see no reason for much outrage against foreign banks here.

[jwirr]

27. And that is what is wrong with any bailout or tax cut we give the rich.

With a global economy they are investing abroad more than they do at home. There is no such thing as loyalty to America anymore.

[smiley_glad_hands]

29. They insured all the mortgage securities that tanked. eom

[jody]

31. That's worse than the pork and wasteful spending Obama promised to cut but hasn't. n/t

[antimatter98]

32. But nothing for small business and working Americans.

This continues the Bush Sr. philosophy of paying attention to the
rest of the world and ignoring America. Today, we see the effects---
on our decaying roads, substandard housing stock, substandard education,
substandard health care, but massively rich elite, jobs outsourced,
closed manufacturing, but plenty of 'financial instruments' and lawyers making
$500/hr.

We're done as a country, and the Obama White House is continuing to support
the deskilling, deindustrialization of America. A barter economy is next.

[debbierlus]

33. That is the crux of it - TRILLIONS to banks & insurance companies

Banks use the bailout money to buy other banks and invest in overseas assets. Then, they fight tooth & nail to give the paltry homeowners 'rescue' program to make the program as buerecratic and difficult as possible, so that hardly any homeowners qualify or can negotiate the red tape.

They provide these funds with little to no oversight.

I see very little public relief from all this money spent. I do see a huge consolidation of power & money to the top corporations.

It is disgusting. And, the very worst part...because Obama is now in office, the progressive movement that had formed a united voice against this type of scandal has been fractured in a million pieces. Obama is a corporatist. He has filled his economic team with corporate voices and now, he is following suit with health care.

Trojan horse.

But, Michelle sure does look pretty.

[bitchkitty]

35. Revolution NOW.

I'm so tired of watching this charade.

[RedCloud]

41. Olbermann said some banks have been bailed out 200%!

Last night he said about $29 billion dollars went as double money to some banks.

This is beyond crazy. Our robber barons need very stiff prison sentences. And those who stampede the market need to be investigated as to why they do that.