hey Spartan

[birdymaker]

you asked and here it is.


http://articles.moneycent...spatch/080211markets.aspx

AIG auditors force larger write-downs
AIG shares tumbled after the company said auditors found a "material weakness" in the internal controls on how it accounts for and manages its credit-default-swap portfolios. Credit default swaps are financial instrument sold to protect investor in fixed-income securities, including mortgage securities, against losses.

Result: AIG may have to write off $4.88 billion from the portfolios just for October and November.

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Earlier, the company had estimated the October and November losses at between $1.05 billion and $1.15 billion. AIG's auditors found "material weakness" in its accounting for the contracts, and the firm doesn't know what they were worth at the end of 2007, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing said.

AIG said it will expand and clarify its disclosures on how it determines the value of those portfolios.

[Spartan]

Are you referring to my asking about PMI?  Credit default swaps seem to be in the same vein, but not exactly the same. 

But it still doesn't answer the question of why PMI didn't protect the banks in all these mortgage defaults.  I thought PMI was required when homeowners had less than 20% equity in their homes.  It used to be, even when they had more equity, it was difficult to get the banks to drop the PMI.

Thanks for the link.