BestWeek: AIG Fights to Separate the Toxic From the Good Caroline J Saucer

American International Group Inc. is racing against time, and bracing against a deteriorating global economy, to separate its operating businesses from the mounting debt of its corporate holding company, industry observers said in this week's issue of BestWeek U.S./Canada.

If the newest version of a federal rescue plan to keep the company solvent, unveiled last week, – now grown to a potential $180 billion in federal aid -- works, the result will be rebranded and independent insurance companies standing on their own, or sold to other companies, with the AIG name reserved for a holding company that holds only portfolios of toxic assets and debts, according to BestWeek.

Also, in BestWeek Europe, Lloyd’s has long been aware that currency movements can have subtle, and not so subtle, effects. But after a run of profitable years, both Lloyd’s and the wider insurance market are healthy, and not unduly concerned about the pound’s fall, noted Luke Savage, Lloyd’s director of finance, risk management and operations.

And in BestWeek U.S./Canada, a series of hearings convened by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, his Senate counterpart Chris Dodd, and the Obama administration have set April's G-20 meeting in London as a deadline to at least offer an outline of the plan to regulate systemic risk, but the list of questions they will have to answer grows longer each day.

BestWeek is published by the A.M. Best Co. for insurance professionals. To subscribe, visit http://www.ambest.com/sales/BestWeek.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Co. is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers.
Copyright © 2009 A.M. Best Company, Inc. American International Group Inc. is racing against time, and bracing against a deteriorating global economy, to separate its operating businesses from the mounting debt of its corporate holding company, industry observers said in this week's issue of BestWeek U.S./Canada.