Timeline of U.S. Government’s Rescue, Sale of AIG

The U.S. Treasury said on Monday it would sell the last of its remaining AIG shares, rounding off a $182 billion bailout that began during the financial crisis. Following is a timeline of key events in the history of AIG:

2008

• Sept. 16: The government rescues AIG with an $85 billion bailout, as the company was minutes from bankruptcy.
• Sept. 17: The government removes Robert Willumstad as AIG’s chief executive and names former Allstate CEO Edward Liddy to replace him.
• Oct. 8: AIG and the Fed reach a deal for another $37.8 billion in liquidity.
• Nov. 10: AIG bailout is restructured to include the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the creation of the Maiden Lane facilities.

2009

• March 2: Bailout is restructured again to give the Fed preferred interests in life insurers ALICO and AIA.
• AIG posts a fourth-quarter loss of $61 billion.
• May 21: Liddy says he will resign.
• Aug. 10: Robert Benmosche, the former CEO of MetLife, takes over as AIG’s chief executive. He will ultimately get the lion’s share of the credit for turning the company around and preventing a fire sale of its assets.

2010

• March 1: AIG reaches deal to sell AIA to Prudential for $35.5 billion; the sale later falls apart.
• March 8: AIG reaches deal to sell ALICO to MetLife for $15.5 billion; the deal closes later in the year.
• Sept. 30: AIG, the Fed and the Treasury agree to a complicated recapitalization deal to repay the Fed and centralize the government’s investment with the Treasury.
• Oct. 22: AIG prices the public offering of a two-thirds stake in AIA in Hong Kong, in one of the largest IPOs ever.

2011

• Jan. 12: AIG strikes a deal to sell its Taiwanese insurance unit Nan Shan.
• Jan. 14: The recapitalization deal closes.
• May 11: Treasury launches its first sale of AIG stock, reducing its stake in the company from 92 percent to 77 percent.
• Aug. 5: The company says it will hold on to United Guaranty, its mortgage insurance unit whose fate had been undecided.
• Shares fall to a 17-month low, having lost half their value over the course of the year on uncertainty about the company’s future.
• Aug. 8: AIG sues Bank of America for $10 billion, alleging mortgage fraud, in one of the clearest indications yet AIG intends to fight back against the banks it believes contributed to its decline.
• Sept. 2: ILFC, AIG’s aircraft leasing business, files for an initial public offering.

2012

• Feb. 23: After making a determination it has returned to consistent profitability, AIG recognizes nearly $20 billion in tax-related benefits.
• Feb. 28: The New York Fed sells the last of the assets in Maiden Lane II, one of the two vehicles it set up to help rescue the company.
• June 14: The New York Fed says the last of its bailout-related loans has been repaid with interest.
• June 28: AIG says it will rebrand some units that dropped the AIG name during the depths of the crisis, restoring the company’s mark to prominence.
• Sept. 9: The Treasury launches its fifth sale of AIG stock, this time for $18 billion, in an offering that will take its stake in the company to around 20 percent.
• Nov. 2: AIG says it plans to shift its focus from stock buybacks to debt management, and adds it would like to pay a dividend in 2013 if possible.
• Dec. 7: AIG confirms it is in talks to sell 90 percent of its aircraft leasing unit ILFC to a Chinese consortium.
• Dec. 9: AIG strikes deal to sell up to 90 percent of ILFC for a valuation of $5.28 billion.
• Dec 10: The U.S. Treasury says it will sell its last 234.2 million shares of AIG stock, worth some $7.8 billion at market prices. The government will retain warrants to buy AIG stock.

Sources: Federal Reserve, A.M. Best, company reports

Topics USA AIG