BUSINESS BRIEFING

The Obama administration’s pay czar has asked American International Group to withhold some of the millions in bonuses promised to its employees.

Kenneth Feinberg, the special master for executive compensation, “has informally advised AIG not to pay the full $198 million” employees expect to receive, according to a report from the special inspector general overseeing the $700-billion financial bailout.

Feinberg is locked in negotiations with the seven companies that received the most expensive taxpayer bailouts. AIG’s was by far the largest. The government committed more than $180 billion to wind down the New York-based insurance and financial services conglomerate. The Treasury now owns about 80% of AIG.