AIG Pays Back $2 Billion More, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (AIG)

Some companies just can’t win for losing. particularly when they are tied to the financial sector at the hip and have major trading exposure to banks in America and Europe.  When we saw news that American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) had paid back $2.15 billion more to the Treasury Department, it sounded like one more bit of good news in a market that was full of nothing but bad news.

The funds came from the sale of Nan Shan Life Insurance.  The problem is that AIG still only has a small portion of its shares sold by Uncle Sam and the stock has fallen since the offering along with the broad market and with the battered financial sector.  If the math is correct, the debt tab is down to about $51 billion outside of another $18 billion or so owed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

AIG closed at $22.70 on Thursday, after having been above $25 as recently as Wednesday. AIG shares were even above $29.00 at the end of July before S&P cut the U.S. sovereign debt rating.

Shares are down another 1.3% at $22.40 this morning and the 52-week range is $21.72 to $62.87.

No good deed goes unpunished.

JON C. OGG