AIG: Financial Winners and Losers

(Updated with stock price moves.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- American International Group (AIG Quote) was among the winners of the financial sector Tuesday on comments from a ratings agency that the insurer is moving towards repaying bailout funds.

AIG shares jumped Tuesday after Moody's Investor Services said the insurer will likely be able to repay the government's loan and much of its preferred equity stake.

Last week, AIG reported a third-quarter profit of $455 million, or 68 cents a share. Excluding items, AIG earned $2.85 a share, beating Wall Street's forecast of $1.98 a share. Moody's said that, if AIG continues to stabilize, it will likely generate enough value to repay the government.

Moody's maintained its credit rating on the stock, affirming the long-term rating of A3 with a negative outlook. Lately, AIG was up $1.66, or 4.6%, to $37.84.

In other insurer news, MBIA (MBI Quote) shares fell sharply after the bond insurer late Monday reported a third-quarter net loss of $727.8 million, or $3.50 a share, as a result of increased unrealized losses on credit derivatives.

Deutsche Bank said its own calculations puts MBIA's operating loss at $1.24 a share for the quarter, which would be worse than the Thomson Reuters average estimate of $1.05 a share. MBIA shares were tumbling 97 cents, or 20.2%, to $3.83. Ambac Financial (ABK Quote) traded lower in sympathy, dropping 12.7% to $1.03.

Turning to bank stocks, Reuters reported that JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote) will lift a salary freeze it put in place last year for employees making more than $60,000 a year, citing an internal bank memo.