AIG's Chartis not seeing employee exodus-CFO

By Lilla Zuill

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bailed out insurer American International Group Inc's global property-casualty division has not seen an exodus of employees because of pay limits imposed by Washington, the unit's chief financial officer said on Thursday.

Robert Schimek praised AIG Chief Executive Robert Benmosche -- who reportedly was distressed enough about pay curbs to threaten to quit recently -- for standing up for employees.

"That's just Bob saying 'I want to get it right for these people,'" said Schimek, who has known Benmosche for many years, having worked closely with him on MetLife Inc's initial public offering earlier this decade.

AIG's property-casualty unit was renamed Chartis Inc in July as part of an effort to avoid being linked with the now-tarnished reputation of AIG.

Schimek, speaking on the sidelines of an insurance conference held by Ernst & Young in New York, estimated that about one-fifth of the 100 senior managers affected by the pay restrictions work for the global property-casualty division. "These people have been fully communicated to" about the pay restrictions, he added.

Chartis employees are taking the furor over pay as best as one can, he said. "We are used to it."

The Obama administration's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, said last month that renegotiating compensation for some AIG employees was a "top priority."

On Wednesday, Benmosche sent a letter to employees to downplay any concerns that his frustrations over compensation had reached a breaking point. "Let me be clear: I and the Board remain fully committed to leading AIG," he said in the letter.