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| Mr Greenberg has been at AIG since 1960 and led
it since 1967 |
The chairman of the world's biggest insurance firm is to step down,
weeks after giving up its day-to-day running.
In a letter from his lawyer, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg said he would end
his four decades at the top of American International Group (AIG) within
days.
AIG is one of several insurers being probed for suspicious
transactions.
Mr Greenberg is one of 12 AIG directors who
received subpoenas on
Monday from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US financial
watchdog.
Mr Greenberg, who is 79, had been at the helm since 1967, turning AIG
into a global operation with 50 million customers in 130 countries and a
market value of $168.5bn.
He agreed to step down as chief executive on 15 March, although he
stayed on as non-executive chairman.
That role, though, will now be filled by senior director Frank Zarb
until a new chairman can be elected.
The SEC's is only the latest investigation into the US insurance
industry.
The first was started by New York Attorney General
Eliot Spitzer, into allegations that insurance companies bolstered their
bottom line
with
reinsurance deals to shift risk off their balance sheets.
The initial interest in AIG was sparked by a 2000 transaction with
General Re which could have boosted AIG's reserves.
But both Reuters and AP report that 10 other transactions have now come
under the microscope.
Mr Spitzer praised AIG's recent actions in the wake of the probes and
Mr Greenberg's agreement to leave the company.
"While there is a long way to go before this investigation is complete,
the wise actions of the AIG board will help set this investigation on a
path toward resolution," he said in an e-mailed statement.
"I commend the AIG board for acting in a way that sets it apart from
other boards that have faced similar problems in recent years."
(BBC) | 
Updated: 2005-03-29 13:56
