AIG to sell its Swiss subsidiary

NEW YORK: Troubled insurance giant American International Group will be selling its Swiss arm AIG Private Bank to an Abu Dhabi-based global investment firm.

In this regard, AIG has entered into an agreement with Aabar Investments PJSC (Aabar) to sell its subsidiary, the insurance firm said in a statement on yesterday.

According to UK daily 'The Telegraph', the Swiss subsidiary would be sold for about USD 254 million.

The move is one of the major sale of asset by the battered AIG, after receiving a life line worth USD 153 billion from the Federal government.

The statement noted that under the new ownership, AIG Private Bank would become an independent financial institution, headquartered in Switzerland along with branches and representative offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Dubai.

AIG Private Bank would conduct its business under a new name and would continue to focus on providing wealth management services to high net worth individuals in Asian, Middle East and Switzerland, among other regions, it added.

"This transaction represents a great opportunity to leverage AIG Private Bank's expertise in wealth management and to further develop it in our region," Chairman of Aabar and future designated Chairman of the bank HE Khadem Al Qubaisi said.