Troubled insurance giant AIG, already under fire for intending to pay out $165 million in bonuses and compensation, succumbed Sunday to congressional pressure, identifying banks that received chunks of the company’s billions in federal bailout funds last year.

AIG, a recipient of at least $170 billion in federal bailout money , got an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve.

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The list released Sunday of &quotcounterparties&quot that benefited from the bailout is topped by European banks Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank, which received $4.1 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.

Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch round out the top four, receiving $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.

In releasing the list, AIG said it &quotrecognizes the importance of upholding a high degree of transparency with respect to the use of public funds,&quot in a statement.

Lawmakers have been pushing for AIG to release a list of its counterparties since last fall, arguing taxpayers have a right to know how federal aid is being used.

Earlier this month, in reference to lawmakers request for a list of AIG’s counterparties, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, told CNNMoney it was critical to determine whether AIG’s collapse would have resulted in a market catastrophe.

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ALEX ISENSTADT
Politico
March 10, 2009

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she is open to introducing a second stimulus bill, but it’s too early to determine the size of such a package and the timing on another major economic measure.

“We have to keep the door open to see how it goes,” Pelosi told reporters Tuesday following a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing on the economy.

But Pelosi said she wanted to give the $787 billion stimulus package passed last month time to work before she starts making promises on a second stimulus. Pelosi also accused the Washington media and cable news establishment of taking an overly critical approach toward the first stimulus — and expecting too much too soon.

“We hope it will be sooner rather than later that [the stimulus] catches fire in Washington, D.C. But we aren’t waiting,” she said.