AIG The most prolific headline generator by far this year was American International Group, which struggled to regain its credibility and repay its debt to taxpayers after a massive federal bailout while changing CEOs, fending off challenges to its executive compensation, rebranding its property and casualty subsidiaries and burying the hatchet with its former boss.

Back in early January, AIG's roller coaster year began with criticism from Maurice Greenberg–its former chair, president and CEO—about the sale of Hartford Steam Boiler to Munich Re.

Mr. Greenberg–now CEO of C.V. Starr & Company, and still a major stockholder in AIG—noted pointedly that under his reign, HSB had been purchased for $1.2 billion in 2000, yet was sold for what he termed a “distressed” price of $724 million.

(As part of its efforts to pay off its federal loans, AIG also agreed to sell auto insurer 21st Century Insurance Group to a Zurich subsidiary—Farmers Group—for $1.9 billion.)

Meanwhile, Mr. Greenberg and AIG locked horns in court over the summer, battling for control of billions in company stock held by Starr International Company—with the jury verdict going in favor of Mr. Greenberg's SICO. (For more on Mr. Greenberg's own eventful year, see tomorrow's blog posting.)

There was also turmoil in the executive suite, with Ed Liddy–the former Allstate head who came out of retirement in September 2008 to lead the company after its federal bailout–announced in May he would step aside as AIG chair and CEO. While he only took $1 per year for his posts, there was controversy after it was revealed that his expenses totaled about $460,000.

In August, AIG recruited another retiree—Robert Benmosche, the former head of MetLife—as its new CEO. (The company appointed a separate non-executive chair–former American Express CEO Harvey Golub.)

But the assignment has not been a cakewalk for Mr. Benmosche, who has clashed with federal officials over compensation for his top executives. There were even published reports that he was threatening to resign—which prompted him to send a letter to employees reassuring them about his commitment to the company.

Indeed, compensation for AIG employees was a recurring controversy this year, starting with public uproar in the first quarter over revelations that big retention bonuses had been paid. Much of the brouhaha centered on $165 million given to employees of AIG's Financial Products unit, which traded the credit default swaps on securities bundling subprime mortgages that nearly brought down the company.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo helped negotiate a return of some of the bonus money, which seemed to put out the firestorm for the moment.

On more positive notes, AIG posted a $455 million profit in the third quarter–its second straight period in the black. But management said it expects “continued volatility” for earnings. Last month, AIG lowered its debt to Uncle Sam by $25 billion after completing deals for two life insurance entities.

AIG also rebranded its p&c carriers under the name Chartis—the Greek word for map, meant to underscore the company's global reach. There was talk about a possible public offering and the appointment of a separate board to further distance the p&c carriers from its parent's tarnished reputation following the federal bailout, but such a move has yet to be initiated.

However, a threat to the new brand came late last month in the form of a report from Todd Bault, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, which reportedly suggested that reserves may be deficient by $11 billion—particularly affecting workers' compensation, general liability and professional liability. The company had no comment about the report.

The news overshadowed an announcement issued late afternoon on Thanksgiving eve that AIG and Maurice Greenberg had agreed to a procedure to settle all their remaining disputes.

All that is certain is that for better or worse, AIG and its subsidiaries are likely to remain prominent as headline-generators in 2010. Stay tuned!

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