June 30, 2009
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News: AIG Sells Its Taiwan Credit Card Company
American International Group Inc. (AIG) announced on Tuesday that it will be selling its Taiwan credit card business to Far Eastern International Bank. The New York based company is a world leader in insurance and financial services with operations in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions. AIG is a global entity that services commercial, institutional, and individual customers through an extensive worldwide property-casualty and life insurance network. AIG subsidiaries also provide retirement services, financial services, and asset management around the world. They are a major provider of business loans that can be used to generate working capital and acquire assets. Their services assist business owners in accepting, processing, and reconciling debit and credit card payments. The company's business loans and services include aircraft and vehicle leasing, business credit cards, and commercial mortgages.
AIG was hit hard during the recession and credit card crisis. They received over $182 billion in government bailout money from the Federal Government as well as the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP.) AIG is in the process of restructuring and has already sold off several other of its assets including a large majority of its Transatlantic Holdings Inc. (TRH) stock and its Mexican Consumer Finance operations. The deal to sell its Taiwan credit card business is the latest attempt to raise funds to repay its debt to the government and retrieve back a portion of the nearly 80% of the stock it used for collateral.
Terms of the agreement to sell AIG Credit Card Company (Taiwan) has not been released; however, the deal is subject to the approval of the Financial Supervisory Commission of the Republic of China. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter 2009. This sale along with a second deal not yet disclosed is expected to produce nearly $25 billion that will be applied to the balance owed the Federal government. AIG is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol AIG and has experienced a 95% drop within the last year.