Bernanke Says Insurer AIG Operated Like a Hedge Fund

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said American International Group Inc. operated like a hedge fund and having to rescue the company made him “more angry” than any other episode during the financial crisis.

The insurer will get as much as $30 billion in new government capital and relaxed terms on its bailout after posting the worst loss by any U.S. corporation yesterday.

The insurer’s fourth-quarter loss widened to $61.7 billion, or $22.95 per share, from $5.29 billion or $2.08 in the year- earlier period, the New York-based insurer said. The results brought AIG’s annual loss to almost $100 billion, prompting the U.S. to offer a package of equity, new credit and lower interest rates on existing loans designed to keep it in business and prevent a new shock to the world’s financial system.