Wall Street Rakes in $1B in Fees on AIG Breakup

Morgan Stanley set to pocket $250M in 'advisory services'

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 6, 2009 7:18 AM CDT

(Newser) – The crumbling of AIG forced taxpayers to take on 80% of the company, but breaking the insurance giant up is turning out to be a bonanza for lawyers and banks. The Wall Street Journal calculates that firms will pull in $1 billion in fees from AIG and the Fed—one of the biggest paydays ever, four times larger than the breakup of AT&T. Among the biggest beneficiaries is Morgan Stanley, which stands to make as much as $250 million.

Morgan Stanley is billing $4 million upfront plus $2.5 million a quarter for "basic advisory services," and banks such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have also billed $75 million to the largely public-owned insurer. AIG has been preparing two IPOs for subsidiaries and, once they go public, may have to sell off its remaining stakes to pay the government—which will generate tens of millions in further fees.

AIG will pay up to $1 billion in fees to lawyers and banks helping with its breakup, according to the Wall Street Journal. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)

Protesters march past AIG headquarters in New York during a rally against government bailouts for corporations Friday, April 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

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Wall Street Rakes in $1B in Fees on AIG Breakup

Morgan Stanley set to pocket $250M in 'advisory services'

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Wall Street Rakes in $1B in Fees on AIG Breakup

Morgan Stanley set to pocket $250M in 'advisory services'

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

insurance companies • Bank of America • Goldman Sachs • Morgan Stanley • IPO • AIG • fees • financial crisis • Wall Street bailout

MOST POPULAR STORIES

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More Newser Stories

Moody's Slaps Wall Street's Big Banks With Review

Along with most of Europe's banks

Students Revolt Against Big Bank Recruiting

Protests spread across Ivy League campuses

Facebook Could File IPO Papers Next Week: Insiders

Sources say Morgan Stanley is close to landing the deal

S&P Downgrades Credit Ratings of Top US Banks

Standard & Poor's applies new criteria to banks around the world

Feds Sue Big Banks Over Mortgages

US accuses them of dodging due diligence as crisis fallout spreads

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