Gov’t Bailout Unfair To AIG, Lawsuit Claims

The government’s handling of the bailout of insurance firm AIG following the 2008 financial collapse will be on trial before a federal court this week. A lawyer for AIG’s former CEO, Maurice Greenberg, will argue the government imposed unnecessarily strict terms on the deal as a way to punish shareholders. The deal with the New York Fed provided $85 billion to keep AIG from going under, but with high interest rate and in exchange for a nearly 80-percent stake in the company. A federal judge last month rejected a bid to dismiss the suit, which seeks $50 billion in damages.