American International Group's various credit lifelines from the Federal Reserve Board as of yesterday totaled more than $100 billion, the New York Fed reported on its Web site today.
Meanwhile, a ranking Democratic senator demanded that "heads roll" in a continuing denunciation of AIG's lavishing a $440,000 outing on sales agents- days after the government first agreed to give the company an $85 billion bailout loan.
AIG said it cancelled a similar outing that was planned for next week at Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, Calif. where single rooms can cost $599 a night and suites $2,900. News of the first expensive event held at Monarch Beach, Calif. surfaced at a Tuesday Congressional hearing and was attacked then by lawmakers.
Yesterday Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., wrote Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke "If AIG was throwing money around for tee times and hot stone massages while begging for Federal Reserve dollars, it's a scandal and an outrage and heads will roll. I want to know who we can fire and how we can get this misspent money back, and I want both of those things to happen pronto."
And Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., the chairman of the Capital Markets Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, asked the government to impose on AIG the executive pay reforms contained in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, and for AIG to "reimburse the federal government for every expense incurred during this retreat."
AIG's latest borrowings from the Fed, were outlined in a routine report Friday that said as of yesterday AIG had taken down $70.3 billion of the $85 billion credit facility provided by the Fed under its agreement with AIG Sept. 17.
This is in addition to another $37.8 billion authorized yesterday by the Fed for AIG to borrow overnight to meet liquidity needs. The additional borrowings will be collateralized by investment-grade, fixed-income securities held by AIG's life insurance subsidiaries.
A spokesman for AIG said the amount AIG is borrowing from the Fed varies from day to day and AIG is not disclosing the actual borrowings.
According to documents released at Tuesday's hearing, the company spent over $440,000 on the event, which was first described as being attended by AIG executives. The next day, AIG chairman and chief executive officer Edward Liddy sought to correct the record by stating that the event was for top producing independent agents rather than corporate executives.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who also lambasted AIG during the committee hearing, said he was "somewhat relieved" by the cancellation of the California event next week, which he called "nothing less than a slap in the face" to taxpayers.
"I cannot fathom how in the same day–the very same day–that AIG asked the government for another $37.8 billion loan, the company would even consider moving forward with plans to host another large conference at another luxury resort," Rep. Cummings added.
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