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Obama "choked up with anger"
THE US Government will modify a planned $US30 billion ($45 billion) capital injection for American International Group to try to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars in controversial bonuses, a Treasury official said.Meanwhile, New York's top legal officer vowed to take AIG to court if it did not provide full details of the bonus payments. The US Government's actions came after President Barack Obama expressed "outrage" over the bonuses to AIG employees, and ordered officials to take all legal measures to block them. The Treasury Department plans to attach new provisions to the terms of its latest AIG rescue package, announced on March 2, to force repayment of the bonuses, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Mr Obama said in remarks at the White House he was "choked up with anger" over the executive payments, which is a hot button issue in the deepening recession. "How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?," said Mr Obama. The US Government has spent up to $US180 billion in taxpayer money to bail out AIG, and the insurance giant continues to bleed red ink. AIG said last week its hands were tied contractually over $US165 million in bonuses due to AIG employees on Sunday. Mr Cuomo told reporters on a conference call that he believed the bonus payments were paid last week. Chief Executive Edward Liddy told US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a letter the insurer was legally obligated to make 2008 employee retention payments, but had agreed to revamp its system for future bonuses after the Obama administration objected. AIG disclosed that Goldman Sachs Group and a parade of European banks were the major beneficiaries of $US93 billion in payments - more than half of the US taxpayer money spent to rescue the massive insurer. Posted by: tipper 2009-03-16 |
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