Report: AIG CEO Ready To Quit Over Pay Constraints

NEW YORK (AP) — After just three months as head of embattled insurer American International Group, Robert Benmosche has threatened to leave his post as he struggles to deal with heavy government oversight and restrictions on what the bailed-out company can pay employees, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported online late Tuesday that Benmosche told AIG's board he was "done" with the job, although he reportedly is reconsidering his stance in the face of the board's dismay.

A spokesman for AIG declined to comment on the report.

Shares of AIG fell $1.09, or 2.9 percent, to $36.50 in premarket trading Wednesday.

According to the people cited by the Journal, the former MetLife CEO is frustrated with the constraints of leading a company majority-owned by the government. The newspaper said Benmosche has complained to AIG's board about the outcome of the Treasury Department's pay review which slashed pay for a number of AIG executives by 91 percent from 2008.

When the credit crisis hit last year, the U.S. government rescued AIG from the brink of collapse with a loan bailout package worth up to $182.5 billion in exchange for an 80 percent stake in the insurer. It is one of seven big companies the Treasury Department ordered to cut top executives' salary and bonuses in half, starting this month. Under the plan, cash salaries for the top 25 highest-paid executives will be limited in most cases to $500,000 and, in most cases, perks will be capped at $25,000.