Memo to Congress: Have you looked into the minutes of the Financial Stability Oversight Board Meeting?

As Congress on Wednesday asked AIG to hand over their minutes for all board meetings attended by the Federal Reserve Bank or the New York Fed so that they can see who was present when the bonuses were discussed, Congress needs to dig up the Financial Stability Oversight Board meeting on November 9, 2008 (see pic above) which the members of that board include Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox.

Pg. 2 of the board meeting document:

Members and officials also
discussed the effect of the continuing
market turbulence and decline in the value
of mortgage-related assets on AIG, as
well as the continuing potential risks to
the financial system and the broader
economy that would result from a
disorderly failure of AIG. Chairperson
Bernanke, Mr. Paulson, and officials of
the Federal Reserve and Treasury
explained that the actions to be announced
were designed to provide AIG a more
durable capital structure, address certain
pools of assets and exposures that had
contributed significantly to the liquidity
and capital pressures of the company, and
facilitate AIG's execution of its plan to
sell certain of its businesses in an orderly
manner with the least possible disruption
to the overall economy.

Pg.3

Treasury officials and Members
then reviewed and discussed the
restrictions that would apply to AIG under
the terms of the investment, including
restrictions on corporate expenses,
restrictions on lobbying, and limitations
on executive compensation that would
apply under EESA, as well as the
additional limitations that would apply to
senior executive compensation and
bonuses.

Click here to read the board minutes. The minutes were posted on then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson website.

On a side note: Here were the Federal Reserve Board's minutes of its funding differculties of AIG.

Minutes concerning (AIG):

Today (September 16, 2008), the Board discussed the funding difficulties (sic) of American International Group, Inc., New York, New York. The evidence available to the Board indicated that AIG, a provider of a wide range of products for both institutional investors and consumers to protect against casualty and financial losses, had experienced a rapid and extreme liquidity shortage. Available evidence also indicated that the company faced the imminent prospect of declaring bankruptcy….

….Given the unusual and exigent circumstances, the Board authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act to extend credit to AIG or any of its subsidiaries, in an amount up to $85 billion, if the New York Reserve Bank obtains evidence that the borrower is unable to secure adequate credit accommodations from other banking institutions. Click here to read more.