When it was revealed that Goldman Sachs was one of the big counterparties that AIG made whole recently, some wondered why AIG felt like it had to pay full value. The thinking was that they should have asked their counterparties in these extraordinary times to accept less than full value, to take a haircut. But as it turns out, that might not have been possible.

Goldman Sachs says that AIG indeed asked for such concessions but Goldman Sachs refused, according to the New York Times. It also noted that it would not have been significantly affected if AIG had collapsed. As it held lots of collateral from AIG and hedged its remaining CDS exposure. 

For more:
- here's the article

Related Articles:
Harsh spotlight on Goldman Sachs for AIG payments
Will AIG execs do the right thing?
What will Edward Liddy say on Wednesday?
AIG vs. Geithner on bonuses