Maurice "Hank" Greenberg will retire this week as chairman of American International Group Inc (AIG), ending a four-decade career with the insurance company as regulators investigate questionable financial transactions that occurred during his tenure.
In a letter sent through his attorney, Greenberg told AIG directors on Monday that he would retire when he returns from a trip to Asia and Europe, and won't stand for election as a director when his term expires in May.
The company released the letter late on Monday and said lead director Frank Zarb would assume the duties of chairman until a new one is selected.
"In order to lead meaningful changes in the industry and at AIG, the company and its officers and directors must resolve any outstanding questions or issues and move forward," according to the letter from Greenberg's attorney, David Boies, to Richard Beattie, who represents AIG's independent directors. "To that end, Mr. Greenberg recognizes the need to promptly and cooperatively resolve all inquiries and investigations by regulators and other authorities."
Greenberg had been at the company's helm for nearly four decades and was a prominent and influential member of the global insurance industry.
Intensified probes
There had been widespread speculation about how long New York-based AIG would continue its relationship with Greenberg, as investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer have intensified in recent weeks.
Greenberg, 79, was replaced as chief executive two weeks ago -- though retained as chairman -- as scrutiny mounted over a 2000 transaction that appeared to have been used to boost the company's reserves artificially.
The separation between Greenberg and the company he built comes as the SEC has sent subpoenas to a dozen AIG executives. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity and confirming a report on Monday in the Wall Street Journal, said that federal investigators know of 10 transactions that warrant review.
Spitzer praises board
In a statement e-mailed to reporters late Monday, Spitzer praised AIG board's for making "difficult decisions."
"While there is a long way to go before this investigation is complete, the wise actions of the AIG board will help set this investigation on a path toward resolution," Spitzer said. "I commend the AIG board for acting in a way that sets it apart from other boards that have faced similar problems in recent years."
Greenberg is scheduled to give a deposition to Spitzer on April 12.
Under investigation are a number of reinsurance transactions -- insurance purchased by insurance companies -- that regulators contend were designed to improve AIG's financial statements without the transfer of risk. Risk transfer is necessary for a deal to be an insurance transaction and determines how it's carried on a company's books.
On Sunday, the company forced out another longtime executive, Michael Murphy, an executive who worked for American International Co, a Bermuda-based unit of AIG. Previously, the company dismissed two other executives -- including Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith -- for refusing to cooperate with the probes.
AIG spokesman Chris Winans said Murphy was terminated "for failure to cooperate with investigators."
He declined further comment.
The Journal said that Murphy was a confidante of Greenberg and an expert of tax matters.
Murphy's attorney, Sean O'Shea, said on Sunday that he had not been informed of his client's dismissal, and did not know whether Murphy had been notified.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique