Did Rescue of Insurer Save Goldman? COMMENTARY

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Byline: SIMON ENGLISH

THE Goldman Sachs spokesman could not have been firmer.

"We have said many times on the record that our exposure to AIG was, and is, not material. Our exposure to AIG is offset by collateral and hedges and is not material to Goldman Sachs in any way." That was back in September, just after the investment bank had raised $10 billion from a stock offering, of which $5 billion came from Warren Buffett -- about as good an endorsement as it is possible to get.

Buffett does not invest in bust banks.

But AIG's disclosure that Goldman is the biggest beneficiary of the Federal Reserve's decision to save the insurer from collapse …