Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, former chairman of American International Group Inc., said that the bailed-out insurer's debt and government ownership should be restructured to improve its chances of repaying taxpayers.

"The plan they had to liquidate the company went nowhere," Mr. Greenberg said yesterday during a CNBC television interview. "You want the taxpayer paid back, the only way to do that is to rebuild the company, restructure the debt."

He said the company had a public relations problem, in that it was majority owned by the US Government, which bailed out the insurer a year ago today.

"As long as the Government owns 80 percent of the company, it's a nationalised company and nobody's going to invest in it," Mr. Greenberg said.

He added that he had respect for the new AIG CEO Robert Benmosche and would be happy to offer him advice whenever he requested it.

"AIG is a great franchise worldwide - there's no company like it in the world," Mr. Greenberg added. "It can be resurrected. I believe that."