The CEO of American International Group Inc. (AIG) has previewed his company's future: expand into mortgage banking while jettisoning its savings and loan operations.
In an interview with Reuters, AIG CEO Bob Benmosche notes that AIG's mortgage insurer unit UGC has become stronger in recent years, and he would like to see this part of the business grow further.
‘We are also now looking at ways we could become direct investors in mortgages,’ he says. ‘We are going to do more of our own direct lending, both commercially and residentially.’
AIG is currently regulated by the Federal Reserve because it has a savings and loan business. However, Benmosche notes that the insurance giant – which received $182.5 billion in federal bailout funds following the 2008 economic crash – is likely to come under permanent Fed oversight if it is designated as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI).
Benmosche adds that although he does not know when AIG will be designated as a SIFI, he will wait to sell off the savings and loan business until after the designation is made.