AIG changes bylaws to require independent chair
AIG amends bylaws to require independent board chair
On Friday August 14, 2009, 5:07 pm EDT
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Companies: American Express CompanyMetLife, Inc.
NEW YORK (AP) -- American International Group Inc. has amended its bylaws to require that its board chairman be independent, a move that comes a week after a non-executive chairman was named at the troubled insurer.
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A Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday said AIG's board approved the bylaws change effective Aug. 10. The vote also eliminates the board position of lead independent director.
The move to require an independent chair follows AIG's Aug. 6 appointment of one of its board members, Harvey Golub, as an independent chairman. Effective Monday, Golub replaced Edward Liddy, who had held the roles of CEO and chairman after he was hand-picked to lead AIG when the New York-based company was rescued by the government last fall.
Golub, a former chairman and CEO of American Express Co., was elected to the AIG board in May -- the same month that AIG announced that Liddy planned to step down. The company also agreed at that time with Liddy's recommendation to separate the chairman and CEO roles. On Aug. 3, AIG named former MetLife Inc. Chairman and CEO Robert Benmosche as its new president and CEO.
The split of the chairman and CEO roles came as AIG's corporate governance practices continue to receive intense scrutiny, after it paid out millions in bonuses despite a huge bailout from taxpayers. AIG has received $182.5 billion in financial support from the government since September. As part of the loan package, the government has also taken a roughly 80 percent stake in AIG, which was one of the world's largest insurers before last fall's financial panic.
On Aug. 7, AIG said the second quarter was its first profitable quarter since 2007, but it warned that it still has plenty of repair work to do.
Shares of AIG fell 65 cents, or about 2.6 percent, to close at $24.37 Friday
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