DATE: December 21, 2009

Documents and Financial Models; Taxpayers Have A Right To Know

Washington, D.C. – Following an op-ed in Saturday’s New York Times by former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, Professor Frank Partnoy and Professor William Black, today, Americans for Financial Reform joined an effort by the Roosevelt Institute to get AIG to release documents that reveal clues into their historic collapse, and the actions of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board in response to this crisis.

Heather Booth, Director, Americans for Financial Reform:

“We need to uncover the truth about what really happened at AIG. We cannot pretend that we will be able to prevent another disaster like AIG unless we learn the full truth about what happened last year. These documents hold important information, and we will join in efforts to uncover the truth. Taxpayers spent $180 billion bailing out AIG and its counterparties, and as majority holders of the company, we have every right to this information.

“The fact that who benefitted, and by how much, from that $180 billion in taxpayer bailout still remains unknown is one more piece in the mountain of evidence that we need real reform of the derivatives markets, and that Congress must act quickly to ensure that derivatives are traded openly on exchanges. “

For more information on the Roosevelt Institute’s AIG campaign, please contact Erica Payne at 917-239-6065 or epayne@rooseveltinstitute.org

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