AIG NAMES NEW BOARD, LIDDY PROCLAIMS NEW STABILITY

Shareholders of troubled US insurer AIG elected a new slate of directors at the group’s annual general meeting on Tuesday as executives tried to allay shareholder concerns over the US government’s stake in the New York-based group. Chief executive Edward Liddy offered little to quell shareholders’ fears that the US government’s 78.9% stake in AIG would soon be diminished, saying that he could offer “no assurances that it will ever change”. However, Mr Liddy said that “AIG is far more stable than it was a few months ago” following last week’s deal in which the company reduced its debt to the US government by $25bn by giving up a share in its non-US life operations. “It allows the marketplace a time to recover”, said Mr Liddy. Shareholders voted to name as directors Dennis Dammerman, Harvey Golub, Laurette Koellner, Mr Liddy, Christopher Lynch, Arthur Martinez, George Miles, Robert Miller, Suzanne Johnson, Morris Offit and Douglas Steenland. The company’s board had been decimated in recent months by a rash of resignations. Meanwhile, AIG has agreed to sell AIG Credit Card Co (Taiwan) to Far Eastern International Bank for undisclosed terms. The deal is expected to close during Q3, while remaining subject to the approval of the Financial Supervisory Commission of the Republic of China. The Hong Kong branch of ABN Amro Bank was AIG’s financial adviser on the transaction.