Over the ensuing two-plus years the credit markets have slowly restored to their proper function, opening the door for companies of all stripes to raise capital. Finding someone other than the government to lend it money was a key step in AIG’s recovery, and another step it can check off.
According to an SEC filing Monday, the insurer secured $4.3 billion in credit facilities Dec. 23 from a group of 36 banks. The three facilities — $3 billion split across a three-year and a 364-day bank credit facility and a one-year $1.3 billion letter of credit entered into by subsidiary Chartis — are the latest move in the nifty financial footwork that has AIG on pace to move out from under the government’s thumb in 2011. (See “AIG Bond Sale The Latest Even In Capital-Raising Decathlon.”)
Plenty of anger remains over the rescue of AIG — and the greed that put the insurer in such a precarious position to begin with — but CEO Robert Benmosche and the current leadership can only play the hand they were dealt.
A crucial part in the recovery is regaining the confidence of the financial community. Investors seemed heartened by Monday’s filing, sending AIG shares up 11.5%.
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Forbes
