GREENBERG BLAST OVER AIG AID

Hank Greenberg, the former chief executive of AIG, has accused the US government of bungling the insurer's rescue by imposing a high-interest loan and forcing the repayment of $30bn-plus to banks and partners.

In a video interview with the Financial Times, Mr Greenberg, who led AIG for 38 years before being ousted in 2005 during a probe of its accounting practices, suggested the US authorities' actions made the company's break-up inevitable.

“You're not going to see an AIG – AIG will be gone, it will be broken up into many pieces,” he saiddays after the company, which is 80 per cent owned by the government, received its third bail-out in five months.

AIG and government officials reject Mr Greenberg's accusations and say his criticisms stem from his status as one of AIG's largest shareholders and his legal wrangles with the company.