WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators defended their roles in the oversight and bailout of failed insurance giant American International Group Inc. in Congress Thursday.Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Repuiblican, called the company "the greatest corporate failure in American history" and said its problems came from its insurance divisions as well as from widely criticized risky deals involving complex financial derivatives.
AIG reported Monday that it had a $61.7 billion quarterly loss, the worst in U.S. history. The same day, Treasury provided the company a new $30 billion loan from the $700 billion financial bailout program, giving the company access to more than $170 billion in taxpayer money.
The government effectively controls the insolvent company, with the Treasury Department holding an up to 79.9 percent stake.
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