AIG agreed to pay $960m to resolve a shareholder lawsuit that had demanded compensation – potentially exceeding $100bn – for the collapse in the insurance group’s value when it was bailed out by the US government in 2008.
The class action suit was filed in 2008, shortly after AIG was rescued by the US Treasury and Federal Reserve as it racked up huge losses on insurance written on plunging mortgage securities.
Shareholders led by the state of Michigan claimed they “suffered tens of billions of dollars of losses, at the least, based on false and materially misleading statements that AIG, certain of its executives, directors, underwriters and outside auditor made concerning the company’s financial results, business operations and condition”.