Fed banks $2.8 bn profit on AIG assets

The US Federal Reserve said Tuesday it had sold off the last of the assets acquired from bailed-out insurer AIG, netting a profit for taxpayers of $2.8 billion in the process.

The New York Federal Reserve said it had sold off the final remnants of assets it scooped up from AIG in 2008, when many of the firms mortgage bonds were considered toxic.

Then, the Fed created a special purpose vehicle, Maiden Lane II, to hold the assets in exchange for a $19.5 billion loan, as it tried to contain the financial and housing meltdown.

"The completion of the sale of the Maiden Lane II portfolio has resulted in significant gains for the public and marks an important milestone in the wind-down of the extraordinary interventions necessitated by the financial crisis," said William Dudley, president of the New York Fed.

The latest sale, of assets worth roughly $6.0 billion, was bought by Credit Suisse Securities.

The Swiss bank early bought a separate tranche of the assets and Goldman Sachs bought $6.2 billion worth earlier this month.