NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 8, 2010) - Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said no bailout enraged him more than that of the American Insurance Group or AIG: "Here was a company that made all kinds of unconscionable bets," he said. "Then when those bets went wrong, we had a situation where the failure of that company would have brought down the financial system."
Now for the first time Institutional Investor magazine reveals how the massive collapse was made possible in what had been one of the most tightly managed and highly regarded financial companies in the world.
Read the special report now at www.iimagazine.com.
The story is told for the first time by a core of AIG insiders -- top product managers to long-time CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg -- as well as critics such as former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
Among Institutional Investor's startling findings:
- Goldman Sachs' critical role in pushing AIG over the brink;
- Documented comments from key inside players brushing off investor concerns: "We have, from time to time, gotten collateral calls from people," said one product manager. "Then we say to them, 'Well, we don't agree with your numbers.' And they go, 'Oh.' And they go away."
- A blow-by-blow account on how AIG, once a cautious enterprise, got into the business of guaranteeing some of the most high-risk, and ultimately explosive, debt instruments created.
Written by master storyteller, William D. Cohan, former senior Wall Street investment banker and bestselling author of "The Last Tycoons," this 6,500-word account appears in the April issue of Institutional Investor, and on the web at www.iimagazine.com.
About Institutional Investor
Now entering its fifth decade, Institutional Investor has consistently distinguished itself among the world's foremost financial publications with ground-breaking journalism and incisive writing that provides "must read" intelligence for a global audience. In addition, throughout the year Institutional Investor offers a host of proprietary research and rankings that serve as respected industry benchmarks, informing and influencing its carefully targeted circulation base throughout the year. For more information visit www.iimagazine.com.
Contact Information:
Contact: William Inman
Editor, Institutional Investor
+1 212-224-3152
winman@institutionalinvestor.com