WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The much-maligned former head of the American International Group(AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) unit which drove the insurer to the brink of collapse, broke a long silence on Wednesday to defend his aggressive buildup of risky mortgage-linked securities.

Joseph Cassano, the ex-chief of AIG’s Financial Products division that precipitated a $182 billion bailout pledge from taxpayers, told a congressionally appointed panel he stood by a 2007 proclamation that the insurer would not lose even a dollar on a portfolio that included subprime mortgages.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs(GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and bailed out insurer American International Group(AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) face a rough two days of questioning about their destructive relationship that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) will zero in on the ties between Goldman Sachs and AIG, and how the two financial giants sold derivatives that deepened the crisis.

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) – The former head of the American International Group (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) unit that precipitated a $182 billion bailout pledge from taxpayers stood by a 2007 proclamation that the insurer would not lose even a dollar on a portfolio of securities that included subprime mortgages.

Joseph Cassano, the much-maligned ex-chief of AIG’s Financial Products division, told a congressionally appointed commission on Wednesday that he truly believed what he told an earnings call with analysts and investors.

WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) – A U.S. commission is
planning to focus on the ties between Goldman Sachs Group Inc
(GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and how
derivatives transactions between the two financial giants may
have contributed to the financial crisis.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a congressionally
appointed panel, will begin two days of hearings on Wednesday
headlined by former AIG Financial Products head Joseph Cassano
and Goldman President Gary Cohn.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Financial regulation could dramatically reshape the U.S. banking industry, but it is not the end of life on Wall Street as we know it.

In the wee hours of Friday morning, lawmakers agreed on historic changes to the rules on Wall Street, putting the final touches on controversial proposals to limit banks’ swaps-dealing operations and their investments in private equity and hedge funds.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Joseph Cassano, a former AIG executive who played a big role in bringing the giant insurer to its knees, will face-off next week with a U.S. panel investigating the causes of the financial crisis.

Cassano will rub shoulders with a star cast, which includes Goldman Sachs Group Inc President Gary Cohn and Chief Financial Officer David Viniar who will testify at hearings before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission next Wednesday and Thursday on the role of derivatives in the financial crisis.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers have hammered out a law that is designed to fundamentally change Wall Street, but financial professionals largely yawned.

Legislators took steps that at first blush could change the industry, including limiting banks’ swaps-dealing operations and their investments in private equity and hedge funds.