Report: White House, AIG at Odds Over New Bonuses

More large bonuses are scheduled to be handed out to executives at AIG, the insurance giant that took a public relations beating earlier this year when it paid out millions in bonuses after receiving a massive federal bailout package.

The prospect of new bonuses at AIG have sparked tense conversations between company leaders and Obama administration officials, the Washington Post reports, though the size of the payouts is much smaller than the $165 million in bonuses that caused public outrage in March.

In the earlier uproar, some employees agreed to give back about $50 million, but not before AIG's reputation dropped about as low as it could go while U.S. lawmakers and White House officials scrambled to pass blame and clean up the mess.

The Post reports that another $2.4 million in executive payments is due next week at AIG, according to administration documents from earlier this year, though the money would be divided among about 40 employees, or an average of about $60,000 each.

AIG doesn't need the federal government's permission, despite its $180 billion bailout package -- the bonuses had been delayed from 2008 -- but the company is counting on intense scrutiny of the bonuses, the Post reports, citing an unnamed source at AIG.

The source told the Post that company is negotiating with Obama's compensation czar, Kenneth Feinberg, because, "we would want to feel comfortable that the government is comfortable with what we are doing."

AIG was a key player in the housing crisis that is partly blamed for the current recession. The insurance company backed many of the financial institutions that were dealing in risky mortgage securities.

Click here for more on the story from the Post.