American International Group (AIG) returned an additional $1.5 billion to taxpayers, the Treasury Department said, paying off in full the government’s preferred equity investment more than a year ahead of schedule.
During the financial crisis, overall support for AIG through the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York totaled about $182 billion.
With Thursday’s repayment, the government’s remaining outstanding investment is now $45 billion, which represents a more than 75% reduction from its original commitment.
The remaining investment consists of the Treasury’s outstanding stake of $35.7 billion, for which it holds 1.25 billion shares or 70% of AIG common stock. It also includes the Federal Reserve loan to Maiden Lane III of $9 billion.
“In the dark days of the financial crisis, when commitments to AIG totaled $182 billion, few would have believed that we’d already be able to reduce that amount by more than 75%, or that we may be able to recover every single dollar invested in the company,” said Treasury Assistant Secretary Tim Massad.
The latest repayment fully retires the government’s remaining preferred equity investment in the AIG-owned entity AIA Aurora — a special purpose vehicle that holds ordinary shares in AIA Group Ltd.
AIG was not required to repay the preferred equity investment until May 2013.
Treasury is working to to wind down the Troubled Asset Relief Program that assisted large financial corporations, including AIG, during the height of the 2008 financial crisis. In March 2012 alone, the department has recovered more than $14.6 billion on its investment in AIG.
More than 80% —$333 billion — of the $414 billion funds disbursed for TARP have been recovered to date.
Ealier this month, the Treasury Department announced plans to sell 206 million shares of AIG stock at $29 a share. The government expects to recoup another $6 billion from this sale.
In February, the NY Fed sold the last of its Maiden Lane II assets to Credit Suisse for a $2.8 billion net gain.
