国际英语新闻：U.S. gov't to sell AIG shares, further exit from bailout program

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Wednesday that the insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) had entered into an agreement with the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the trustees of the AIG Credit Facility Trust to speed up the repayment of U.S. taxpayer funds.

It was a milestone in the government's long-stated efforts to exit our investments in private companies as soon as practical while protecting taxpayers, said Tim Massad, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability.

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

This development is another step in a process that will accelerate the government's exit from AIG. When this transaction closes, which will occur no later than March 15, 2011, the Federal Reserve loan will be paid off with no expected losses and Treasury 's preferred stock investment will be converted to common shares. The Treasury can then sell those shares publicly in order to recover taxpayer funds over time, according to the statement.

"When all is done, we believe taxpayers will recover every dollar invested in AIG and stand a good chance of making a profit, " said Massad, without giving specific figures.