(04-12-2012, 12:15 PM)d.o.g. Wrote: Think about what happened at AIG. AIGFP sold all sorts of insurance products and eventually caused the meltdown. But the underlying operating subsidiaries were perfectly sound. The same (or reverse) could be true at Olam.
In AIG's case, the operating assets of the subsidiaries aren't really as liquid and readily marketable as the commodities that Olam has? Furthermore, subsidiaries of AIG are generally regulated and hence the assets can't be easily transferred or liquidated. While I would agree that the mismatch in the entities holding the assets vs the entities needed the cash may be an issue for Olam, I won't necessarily paint them in the same brush as AIG during GFC.
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