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NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of
American International Group Inc. (AIG), said Monday in a CNBC interview that AIG
shareholders need at least two weeks to digest the slew of information about the
company’s dismal earnings performance before the annual general meeting is held.

Criticizing the company’s management, Greenberg called on the board of directors
to consider postponing Wednesday’s annual meeting.

In the interview, Greenberg said: “I think shareholders ought to have a couple of
weeks, at least…in order to properly assess what they want to do.”

The insurer on Thursday reported a $7.8 billion loss in the first quarter largely
as a result of a sharp decline in the value of financial instruments linked to
subprime mortgages.

Asked if he would advocate a new slate of directors for the board, Greenberg said
that is a matter for shareholders to decide. “I can only vote for the shares that
I control,” said Greenberg, a major holder of AIG shares. Greenberg heads Starr
International Co., AIG’s largest shareholder.

In a letter to the AIG board that was filed to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, Greenberg said the insurer “is in crisis.”

He told CNBC: “Look at the earnings, the full year was terrible, the proxy
statements came out, people voted, several weeks later, the first-quarter
(results) came out, which was even worse. It seems to me that the board should
delay the meeting and give shareholders the opportunity to digest this new
information so they can vote properly.”

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