If you missed American International Group Inc.'s (NYSE:AIG) conference call outlining the insurer's
$30 billion bailout and record-breaking net loss of $61.7
billion for the
fourth quarter, here are a few select quotes.
AIG CEO Ed Liddy talked about how negative press coverage undermines the company's efforts to "prevent the erosion of the franchise." He said, "You
can't keep hearing in the press everyday negative news on AIG."
Liddy also said AIG's losses were due to contagious, plague-like global
economic conditions. He stated that because of AIG's sheer size, "When
the world catches
pneumonia, we get it too, in spades, because we are so large."
Continue reading below
When asked what AIG would look like in five years, Liddy said, "Five years is a very, very long time," which got a few chuckles.
AIG's chief restructuring officer
Paula Reynolds said in discussing the complexities of various asset sales, "It might be better to go to jail than deal with the intricacies of securities laws at this point." -
Maria Woehr and Michael Rudnick
