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(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Three little letters are causing quite a stir this morning. But what does AIG do, and why all the fuss?
American International Group is one of the world's largest insurers. University of Utah finance professor Elizabeth Tashjian says if it failed, other institutions would fall like dominoes.
"If the insurance company doesn't pay off then you can't pay your mortgage, then that affects the bank that holds the mortgage, and so forth and so on," she said.
Besides individual car and home insurance, AIG also does insurance between large companies around the world. The feds say if it failed, it would mean reduced household wealth and higher borrowing costs.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
