Financial Winners & Losers: AIG

Financial stocks were having a mixed session Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson took questions in Washington about the government's plan for stabilizing the markets and the economy.

The Amex Securities Broker/Dealer index was up 0.9%, while the NYSE Financial Sector index was off 0.1%. The KBW Bank index was down 1.3%.

Raymond James (RJF Quote - Cramer on RJF - Stock Picks) and Charles Schwab (SCHW Quote - Cramer on SCHW - Stock Picks) were both on the winning side and gaining more than 3%. Jefferies (JEF Quote - Cramer on JEF - Stock Picks) was having an even better day, adding 4.7%.

Insurance company AIG (AIG Quote - Cramer on AIG - Stock Picks) rose nearly 9% after saying its board would suspend its quarterly common stock dividends.

As for the losers, Merrill Lynch (MER Quote - Cramer on MER - Stock Picks) was dropping 4%, and Ameriprise (AMP Quote - Cramer on AMP - Stock Picks) was weaker by 2.1%.

Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs (GS Quote - Cramer on GS - Stock Picks) was little changed, and Washington Mutual (WM Quote - Cramer on WM - Stock Picks) edged down 1%. Wachovia (WB Quote - Cramer on WB - Stock Picks) was even weaker, surrendering 7%.