AIG-Travel Guard CEO Says, "We're OK!"

(MoneyWatch)  My new favorite CEO is John Noel of AIG-Travel Guard (you know, the one I posted about last week?) for his upbeat, even optimistic view of his parent company's dance on the edge of financial ruin. He released this statement to the Wausau Daily Herald, which I believe is tons better than the standard, boring company release:

With respect to AIG and Travel Guard, I'm sure the questions in many of your minds are, "How does this impact my Travel Guard customers?" "Will Travel Guard be there to honor their claims if they have a financial loss? "If they have a problem during their travels, will they get astonishing service that they have come to expect from Travel Guard?"

I'm sure you can guess the answer, but it's again Noel's bravado in times that others are calling a depression which makes me marvel.

The answer to all of these questions is a resounding "Yes!" AIG is different than other financial institutions that have been severely impacted by recent developments in the financial service markets. We have strong, well-positioned businesses in diverse markets around the world. We have a deep asset base, with stakeholders' equity of $79.9 billion and assets of over $1 trillion.

AIG also said officially that all businesses, including its insurance, retirement services and Asian operations, will remain open and are "adequately capitalized." This evening, the Federal Reserve agreed to loan AIG $85 billion in exchange for 80 percent of the company.