Commentaries
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from Rolfe Winkler:
“There were no discussions on AIG”
I'm sorry I missed this CNBC interview last week with Robert Wolf, chief of UBS Investment Bank in the U.S. There's a remarkably eye-opening sound bite.  (hat tip M. Mayer)
...there were no discussions on AIG during that three day period [the weekend Lehman failed].
Wait, really? Does this mean the Fed had no idea AIG was about to collapse when it was working to resolve Lehman? Two days later it threw $85 billion at them with completely insufficient security, a package that later expanded to $150 billion.
Clearly there needs to be some mechanism to receive the assets of failed systemically-important companies. FDIC has its hands full with insured depository institutions. It has no mandate, much less the capability to handle a behemoth like AIG.
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The Wall
