It was feared that a collapse of the country’s biggest insurer – and underwriter of many of the credit default swaps held by financial institutions globally that are supposed to protect them from such scenarios – would have a catastrophic domino effect throughout financial markets. As the sun set on 15 September, the day Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the day that Bank of America gobbled Merrill Lynch for $50bn, AIG was already in crisis talks with the Fed.

An 80% share in the country’s biggest insurer came free to US taxpayers with the next sunrise – at the cost of effectively underwriting the underwriter. AIG plans to sell off as-yet unspecified assets to pay back the loan, which matures in 2010.