国际英语新闻：U.S. Fed chief asks Congress to review AIG bailout

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke requested Congress Tuesday to review the Fed 's publicly criticized bailout of insurance giant American International Group (AIG).

In a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, Bernanke said that it welcomes a " full review" by GAO of all aspects of the Fed's involvement in the bailout action to AIG "to afford the public the most complete possible understanding of our decisions and actions in this matter, and to provide a comprehensive response to questions that have been raised by members of Congress."

The Fed move is in response to criticism of the multi-billion- dollars AIG rescue. The public demanded the Congress for more information about the bailout plan provided to the company. Some lawmakers wonder why the firms were fully paid and why concessions weren't demanded.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks during a presentation at the American Economic Association conference in Atlanta, Georgia, January 3, 2010. Bernanke on Sunday repeated his confidence that the Fed will be able to withdraw its extraordinary support for the economy when the time comes

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has a probe under way, with many high rank officials, including Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, on the hearing list.

AIG, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, was considered one of the "too big to fail" financial institutions. It has received 182 billion dollars taxpayers money since September 2008 when the financial crisis was at its worst.

Bernanke said that AIG had wide-ranging operations and extensive financial relationships, none of which was subject to supervision by the Federal Reserve. The Fed extended its credit to prevent the imminent disorderly failure of the company, an event that would likely have led to a significant intensification of an already severe financial crisis and a further worsening of global economic conditions.

Some opponents said the central bank is not transparent in its responses to the crisis. But Bernanke defends the Fed's role in different occasions that the bank is transparent enough.

Congress passed a law last year giving the GAO authority to review Fed documents in the AIG bailout.