This whole thing is just inviting more gov regulation. Regulation "usually" means less efficient markets and it plays into the idea that Bush was asleep.
BTW don't spare the grim truth. Let's hear it.
okey dokey...here are a few.
1. AIG operates in 140 countries.
2. It is
-Largest US Underwriter of commercial and industrial insurance
-Largest US underwriter of retirement services for secondary and primary education, (teachers) #2 for health care underwriting, #3 for higher education
- LArgest issue of fixed annuites in the country
-Largest in term life and ordinaryt life
-Largest property and casualty service worldwide
-LArgest US Based insurer in Europe
- Largest foreign owned property/casualty franchise in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Thailand
- Largest life insurer in SE Asia, Middle East, singapore, Hong Kong Phillipines,
-Largest foregin life insurer in Japan
-Largest and most valuable fleet of aircraft in their aircraft lease business
-2nd Largest Consumer finance business in the USA
-Largest Investor in Corporate Bonds in the USA
- one of the top 5 largest institutional asset managers in the world
-Largest independent Broker Dealer in the USA
it has 116,000 employees across all 50 states
if it failed, it would increase the borrowing costs for the US Government, due to the forced sale of AIG's massive government debt portfolio.
it would cause a huge fall in the value of the dollar
AIG is a massive presence in retirement services
-it holds the accounts and policies of 6.7 million americans, most of whom are retired.
- those accounts are valued at 147 billion dollars.
- the majority of those accounts are held by people earning 50-60 thousand a year.
- AIG's is the #1 seller of fixed retirement annuities through financial institutions
- if it failed the retirement savings of all the pensions and retirement funds for school teachers, health professionals and retired persons with accounts would be in serious trouble
- AIG's finance arm (AGF) is the second largest lender in the USA. it has 2 million customers who have loans of roughly 24 billion dollars
- it is responsible for 4-5 billion dollars a year in non-bank consumer lending
- it would be forced to default and then be sued by the investors both here and abroad, who hold over 23 billion in debt from AGF
- roughly 1/3rd of all americans are employed by someone who is covered by AIG
- it insures 94% of the Fortune Global 500 Largest companies
in the USA
-insures overer15,000 farms and agricultural businesses
30,000 commercial and residential contractors, including almost every major U.S. infrastructure project
5,000 schools; school boards; elementary, secondary and higher education
facilities; libraries; museums; and art galleries
23,000 non-profit and social service organizations
2,600 energy and environmental organizations, including power utilities,
superfund sites, oil and gas exploration businesses, alternative energy
concerns and electric utilities
21,000 healthcare providers, including doctors, medical facilities, hospitals,
and nursing homes.
7,000 real estate businesses including real estate agencies, commercial and retail buildings and mobile homes
9,800 transportation and travel concerns, including airlines, busses, trains,
cargo ships, hotels, taxi cab companies and trucking companies
550 public entities including local governments, water authorities, airport
authorities, housing departments, community development administrations
and police and fire departments
- They are the second largest investor in US Municipal Bonds, and would have to liquidate their holdings, completely destabilizing the bond market
insures the U.S. military, the U.N., U.S. and foreign embassies, and other organizations including the Panama Canal, oil rigs, trucking, marine cargo
and Doctors without Borders
Defense Base Act program provides coverage to contractors in support of the rebuilding of the infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan
the y insure 20% of the global aviation market, and the airlines rates would go through the roof.
- the credit protection on the 63 billion of CDO's would be eliminated
- they are the largest aircraft lessor in the world, with 950 aircraft
- over the past 30 years, AIG international lease finance corp has bought more Boeing aircraft than any airline or company (670 planes)
is the largest commercial customer of General Electric (engines), Honeywell, RockwellIntl (avionics) and United Technologies (engines/APU)
is the largest buyer of U.S. made engines and components for new Airbus aircraft
has 102 new jets on order from Boeing as of December 2008, with a value of $12.5billion, for deliveries in 2009 and beyond
new Boeing planes are primarily for export, helping U.S. balance of payments, via long term leases to foreign airlines
Loss of Boeing's largest customer, including $12.5 billion of forward order book, resulting in reduction in Boeing s 183,000 employees
liquidate its 1,000-plane aircraft portfolio at distressed prices, severely impacting the already weak aircraft industry
Losses to U.S. banks and U.S. institutional holders of ILFC debt (currently $30 billon+ )
and that does not even get into what would happen if they began failing and other countries regulators began seizing their assets
and those are just some of the highlights.
now, if you honestly cannot see the importance of saving AIG, think about the ripple effects of all those failures, the loss of investment portfolios of all their clients, pension funds, the loss of value of municipal bonds held by all investors...
it would be horrible.