AIG, the insurer controlled by the US government, still faces billions of dollars in potential losses on credit guarantees it provided for complex sub-prime mortgage securities, in spite of its $62bn fourth-quarter loss and regulatory efforts to unwind its holdings, company filings show.

The difficulties the authorities face in dealing with AIG spilled into the open yesterday as Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, expressed anger with the company in an appearance before the Senate budget committee.

Financial Times