Business World

Robert Benmosche, the new CEO of American International Group Inc, said he regrets tough comments he made about New York’s attorney general, saying he was trying to bolster a demoralized AIG work force.

“You can characterize me as a goon or you can characterize me as somebody who is attempting to deal with a complex issue of a very demoralized employee force and said those things to them in confidence to reassure them that they no longer have to be afraid that they are going to be attacked again,” Benmosche told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

During a closed-door staff meeting in Houston, Texas, last month, Benmosche said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo “doesn’t deserve to be in government” and had acted like a “criminal.”

Cuomo’s office declined to comment on the incident or on Benmosche’s subsequent comments.

In March, New York’s top lawman issued subpoenas following news that AIG had paid $169 million in bonuses to employees in its money-losing financial products division. The payments sparked congressional and public outrage, as AIG has received more than $180 billion of federal aid.

Cuomo sought details about the bonuses, including the names of those who received them, the amounts, and details of employee contracts. His office has not made the data public.

“I was responding to several questions from the audience (in Houston) about their enormous fear for their well-being and their families, and it brought back a very dark period of time for AIG and its employees,” Benmosche said by cell phone from the Adriatic Croatian city of Dubrovnik, where he owns a villa payday loans.

“They were afraid that the bonus issue may come back again, and it was dealing with their fear, and I think I overstated myself. I was a little too aggressive in my comments, but I was responding to enormous fear on the part of many, many associates.”

AGGRESSIVE LEADERSHIP

Benmosche, a former CEO of MetLife Inc and a native New Yorker, prides himself on a reputation for toughness.

“One should not misconstrue my aggressive comments — which were aggressive,” he said in the interview. “But, on the other hand, I think the government understands that I said what I said.

“I said I would be aggressive before I came on board, and this is going to require strong, aggressive leadership to get this company righted and be able to make good on all of our obligations,” he continued. “They need an aggressive person.

“But one should not assume that my aggressiveness is disrespect.”

Benmosche said he had apologized to Cuomo’s office, but added he had not received any complaints from the government, which now owns a 79.9 percent stake in AIG, once the world’s largest insurer.

“Let me stress that in no way has anybody from the government ever complained to me about anything,” he said. “It really is me complaining about me.” 

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