CBC Dems urge Treasury to include women and minorities in AIG deals

By Peter Schroeder
 
As the Treasury Department prepares to sell off up to $75 billion of shares in the American International Group (AIG) a group of eight Congressional Black Caucus members want to ensure that women and minorities are included in the dealmaking.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the group, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), urged government officials to ensure these groups are "fairly and fully included at all stages of this process.

"Minority- and women-owned businesses are frequently excluded from participation in ventures of this size," they wrote.

On Jan. 14, AIG restructured its government support, leaving the Treasury with 1.6555 billion shares of AIG common stock, a 92.1 percent stake in the company, which it intends to sell back to the public over the next few years.

In their letter, the Democrats noted that the Dodd-Frank financial reform law included a provision requiring all government agencies dealing with financial matters establish offices devoted to the inclusion of women and minorities.

While those offices do not have to be created until Jan. 21, the lawmakers urged the Treasury to follow through with the spirit of the law in all current and future AIG dealmaking.

"Given the size of this sale and the opportunity for a large number of banks and investment firms of all sizes to participate, we strongly urge you to comply with the letter and the spirit of Section 342 and provide for the inclusion of minority- and women-owned businesses in any potential offerings of stock for sale," they wrote.