The October 7th hearing before the congressional House Oversight Committee brought attention to a conference which took place at the St. Regis Hotel from September 24-28 2008. Here's how CNN reported it  "Crippled Insurance Giant spent $440,000 on posh retreat for executives". Barack Obama stated in last night's debate " Those executives should be fired"

AIG states that "the conference was held for leading independent distributors with AIG American General and WAS NOT an "executive retreat."

Conferences like this provide an opportunity for top independent distributors to meet with selected members of insurance company management to learn about ongoing developments in the company and to provide them with product, marketing and operational updates. Given AIG's current situation, this conference was even more essential to maintaining critical relationships with distributors and the policyholders they represent.

The vast majority of the attendees at the conference were independent business people and their guests, not AIG employees. In fact, out of over one hundred attendees, there were only 10 AIG American General employees who were there to represent the company and participate in the meetings and discussions. The contract for the conference was arranged in 2007 and the commitment to our distributors was made at that time.

AIG American General has built its business and reputation by keeping commitments - to customers, employees and distributors. It takes its commitments seriously. AIG American General made a commitment to some key distributors well in advance of the current crisis and despite the current situation and heightened media attention, believed it was important to honor that commitment".

Clearly the media has had a field day with the story. Yet an alternate point of view was shared by New York Superintendent of Insurance Eric Dinallo, who said:

"I do agree there is some profligate spending there, but the concept of bringing all the major employees together ... to ensure that the $85 billion could be as greatly as possible paid back would have been not a crazy corporate decision," Dinallo told the House committee.

Another example of the ignorant perception out there is embodied in this comment about the announcement in Insurance Journal about the Federal Reserve Board authorizing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to borrow securities from certain domestic life insurance subsidiaries of AIG (previously lent by AIG to 3rd parties) in return for cash collateral.