Maurice "Hank" Greenberg will appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform singing a familiar tune: "It wasn't me."
While Greenberg may not be quite as salacious as pop star Shaggy was in
this popular music video from 2000 pleading the same refrain to his girlfriend, the 83 year old former CEO of America International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG) -- who helped transform the insurer into worldwide financial services giant -- did have somewhat of a "love affair" that included creating the financial products unit that he now disavows. Even though the unit eventually led to the firm's downfall Greenberg told The Wall Street Journal that he isn't responsible for the current situation the insurer is in now.
"I don't feel any responsibility at all. ... How can I be responsible for something that occurred when I'm not there," he told
The Wall Street Journal.
According to The Wall Street Journal when Greenberg left the insurer, "the unit had already sold about half of the swaps that caused the biggest problems," and the exposure was not hedged. Current AIG CEO Edward M. Liddy even told
Bloomberg Television on March 3 that Greenberg was to blame for the insurer's losses and the retention agreements that brought about the controversial bonuses:
"The
formation of [AIG Financial Products], which has literally brought us
to our knees," said Liddy, "that happened on [Greenberg's] watch. The
compensation systems that have gone astray happened on his watch."
Greenberg has been very vocal about AIG's bailouts and the restructuring of the insurer. Greenberg, who is already wrapped up in lawsuits, is expected to take the opportunity to say what he has said all along (as evidenced in this interview from CBS News), that the government should cut its stake in AIG down to 15%, and pressure trading partners to give money back to AIG as an investment.
"I'm not a great believer in government ownership and management. ... I
would hope that government involvement would be reduced and eliminated
as soon as possible," he told The Wall Street Journal.
Why anyone is still listening to Greenberg's suggestions, especially Congress, is the real question. He is still fighting civil charges related to an investigation into the company's
accounting practice. What's more ironic is Rep. Darrell E. Issa, who is presiding over the AIG hearing, thinks that talking to Greenberg is a waste of time and said Greenberg was "biased and unreliable", according to
Politico. Watch Greenberg's testimony live
here.
- Maria Woehr
