THE BAILOUT NERVE - After Costing Taxpayers $182 Billion, The CEO Of AIG Thinks Self Regulation Is Sufficient

Video - AIG CEO Robert Benmosche - June 22, 2011

You can watch the rest of this interview here at Youtube...

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Source - Huff Po

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, American International Group was bailed out by the federal government. But evidently, that truth hasn't stopped their current CEO from arguing that the company should be allowed to regulate itself.

This week, when asked by CNN's Poppy Harlow for his opinion on financial reform, AIG CEO Robert Benmosche made his views clear. "Right now, the most important thing is that we've got to get companies to regulate themselves and to do the right thing," he told CNN viewers. The regulator's job, he continued, is "to figure out how to improve that system."

In 2008, AIG required a $180 billion bailout package in order to stay afloat after the company teetered close to collapse, according to CNN. Prior to the collapse, the company had insured $441 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities for Wall Street banks in the form of credit default swaps, reports Bloomberg. When the system imploded, AIG became the big insurer that couldn't keep up.

Still, in the CNN interview, Benmosche defended investment banks, saying the practices employed were not criminal, simply the result of bad management.

"It could be just sloppy underwriting, it could be sloppy business," Benmosche said. "And that's just not illegal, unless you portray something one way and you knew it wasn't."

Continue reading...

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Important AIG stories from the archives:

Dylan Ratigan: Building A Case Against Geithner

BOMBSHELL REPORT: Goldman Sachs Got Billions From Taxpayers Thru AIG For Its OWN Account, Crisis Panel Finds; Contradicting SWORN Testimony From Execs

How Paulson Appointees & Former GS Employees Dan Jester & Ed Liddy Colluded To Destroy AIG And Secure A Secret Bailout For Goldman Sachs

Subpoenaed Documents Show Goldman Sachs Offered To 'Tear Up' AIG Derivatives Contracts At 'Right Price' Before NY Fed Took Over Negotiations

Marcy Kaptur Exposes Tim 'Goldman Sachs' Geithner Before Congress

South Park Explains The AIG Bailout

Geithner's Crimes Through AIG - Will The Truth Come Out

Timothy Geithner, I Call Your Bluff (Janet Tavakoli)

Who Is Dan Jester And Why Did Tim Geithner Call Him 103 Times During The Financial Meltdown Of 2008?

Emails Don't Lie, Just Ask The Fed Officials Who Hide Them: AIG's Disclosure Surprised, Displeased NY Fed

COVER-UP: New York Fed Officials Pressured The SEC To Grant 'National Security' Status To Hide AIG's $62 Billion Gift To Banks

Tim Geithner Is A Disgrace (By Eliot Spitzer)

French Were Willing To Negotiate AIG Discounts: Barofsky

How The NY Fed, Under Stephen Friedman & Tim Geithner Pressured AIG Officials To Withhold Details Of Payments To Goldman Sachs, Other Counterparties

The Triumphant Return Of Tricky Dick: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Is Still Lying And We Prove It

Bloomberg Investigates Former NY Fed Chairman Stephen Friedman Over Controversial Purchases Of Goldman Shares

Dan Jester: Still Looking For The Mystery Man Behind The Goldman Sachs AIG Swindle (VIDEO - Hank Paulson Grilled By Congress About Contact With Jester)

AIG BAILOUT: Obama, Biden, Geithner And Clinton Get Help From Abe Lincoln (Video)

Is Stephen Friedman Guilty Of Insider Trading?

A 25 Billion Dollar Secret: The NY Fed, Goldman & The AIG Cover-Up

Barofsky Blames Geithner For AIG Bonus Rip-Off

How Goldman Sachs Created 'Shitty' CDOs, Sold Them To AIG, Forced AIG Into Bankruptcy, Got A $20 Billion Bailout, Paid Themselves Billions In Bonuses, And Watched As Tim Geithner Covered It All Up

Comments

[DailyBail]

I am placing links below to stories that I'm not including above.

Video: Dylan Ratigan and Rep. Marcy Kaptur discuss Tim Geithner, AIG, and Goldman Sachs -- January 28, 2010

http://dailybail.com/home/is-there-anybody-that-isnt-from-goldman-sachs-video.html

[DailyBail]

AIG Bailout LIVE From Capitol Hill: Tim Geithner And Ben Bernanke Testify Before Congress

http://dailybail.com/home/aig-bailout-live-from-capitol-hill-tim-geithner-and-ben-bern.html

Transcript included...good stuff...

[DailyBail]

S&L Regulation Heavywieght William Black Charges Geithner, Summers And Obama With Banking Cover-Up (Bill Moyers Video)

http://dailybail.com/home/sl-regulation-heavywieght-william-black-charges-geithner-sum.html

Transcript included with this one as well...

[DailyBail]

Audit The Fed: Ron Paul With The Judge On Geithner, Paulson, Bernanke, Goldman & AIG

http://dailybail.com/home/audit-the-fed-ron-paul-with-the-judge-on-geithner-paulson-be.html

[DailyBail]

New Low For Obama Administration As Pay Czar Bows To AIG

http://dailybail.com/live-beat/new-low-for-obama-administration-as-pay-czar-bows-to-aig.html

[DailyBail]

TARP Inspector Barofsky Announces Formal Investigation Of NY Fed 'Misconduct' In Secretive AIG Bailout

http://dailybail.com/home/tarp-inspector-barofsky-announces-formal-investigation-of-ny.html

[DailyBail]

The New York Fed, AIG Cover-Up Hearings (Geithner, Paulson, Baxter, Barofsky & Friedman, LIVE BLOGGING)

http://dailybail.com/home/watch-live-video-the-new-york-fed-aig-cover-up-hearings-geit.html

Transcript and commentary included...

[Howard T. Lewis III]

And until the American intelligentsia cowboys up, there is nothing between AIG and their getting their wish beyond a long ago surgically deboned and pithed Pres. B.Obama. America has been recolonized and the rag doll you write about is their custom-made proxy.

The investigations will come to naught beyond a Carl Rove choreographed public spanking of a minor figure.

[mayan]

What a waste of tax payers' money, and these people can still show off in public. Hope they'll think about of many unemployed tax payers by then The history bailout of this insurance company has been for years and I don't think they are showing any signs of business stabilization.

[mayan]

I've read the history from this article. See if you're interested. http://www.insuranceproviders.com/aig-bailout-timeline/

[DailyBail]

great infographic mayan...awesome work...

[mayan]

Thanks dailybail! :) I just hope these guys will soon realize the after effect of this bail out. Though the interest looks good as an advantage and ideal, but it isn't realistic. Many are suffering.