http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638394500958141.html#mg=com-wsj&articleTabs=article "The beneficiaries of the government's bailout of American International Group Inc. include at least two dozen U.S. and foreign financial institutions that have been paid roughly $50 billion since the Federal Reserve first extended aid to the insurance giant. Among those institutions are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Germany's Deutsche Bank AG, each of which received roughly $6 billion in payments between mid-September and December 2008, according to a confidential document and people familiar with the matter. Other banks that received large payouts from AIG late last year include Merrill Lynch, now part of Bank of America Corp., and French bank Société Générale SA. More than a dozen firms with smaller exposures to AIG also received payouts, including Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and HSBC Holdings PLC, according to the confidential document." _____________________________ Well not exactly a shocker but still good to see the WSJ get the answers to the question that Bernake refused to answer before congress the other day. I don't know that i've ever quoted Sentator Dodd but he was dead on earlier in the week: ""It's not clear who we're rescuing -- whether it is whatever remains of AIG or its trading partners," "AIG's trading partners were not innocent victims here. They were sophisticated investors who took enormous, irresponsible risks with the blessing of AIG's triple-A rating," added Dodd. __________________________________________ It must be good to be Goldman Sach's et. al.......all the gain and apparently little of the risk when the taxpayer rides to the rescue. Forget taxpayer loans, they get a billion dollar gift seemingly. :eek: On another note: some speculation that GS rather than a large insurance company, is the counter party to Buffet's now infamous S&P put bet (for which i understand he put up no collateral) and that is why he made the direct investment into them last year. What are the chances he gets asked a question about that on squawk box next Monday? slim to none my guess.