AIG unit that had big role in 2008 crisis nears official end

NEW YORK (AP) — A unit of American International Group that played an outsized role in the 2008 global financial crises is nearing its official end. AIG said Wednesday that its Financial Products unit has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Bad bets on mortgages by the Financial Products unit knocked parent AIG off its feet and a cascading series of bank failures nearly led to a global economic collapse. AIG was saved by a U.S. funded bailout that exceeded $182 billion. The company paid off those loans by 2013 and the AIG subsidiary ceased to function years ago and had no employees. There will be no material effect on AIG’s finances because those losses were booked in 2008.