AIG remains upbeat despite profit slump

Sending out a positive signal
to the market American International Group’s (AIG) board of
directors has authorised an ordinary share repurchase scheme of up
to $1bn.

The news came close on the
heels of AIG’s announcement of poor third quarter results which saw
it swing from a net attributable profit of $1.8bn in the previous
quarter to a net attributable loss of $4.1bn.

A number of factors
contributed to the third quarter loss with the most significant of
these being a fall in the equity market which was responsible for a
$2.3bn valuation adjustment.

Also playing a big role in
the third quarter loss was a non-cash charge of $1.5bn relating to
certain aircraft owned by its International Lease Finance
Corporation unit and catastrophic losses of $574m incurred by its
general insurance arm, Chartis.

Despite the setback, AIG
president and CEO Robert H Benmosche was upbeat.

“Despite the difficult external environment, we are
encouraged by the progress we have made and the underlying strength
of our core insurance businesses,” Benmosche said in a
statement.

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