Federal Reserve Provides $85 Billion Emergency Loan to AIG, Eventually Growing to $182 Billion in Total Taxpayer Commitments to Bail Out Insurance Giant That Gambled on Credit Default Swaps, Followed by $165 Million in Executive Bonuses Paid to Employees Who Caused the Crisis

On September 16, 2008, just one day after allowing Lehman Brothers to file for bankruptcy, the Federal Reserve provided an $85 billion two-year emergency loan to American International Group (AIG) to prevent the insurance giant’s collapse and contain spreading financial contagion. In exchange …