The US government’s unprecedented takeover of AIG and its extension of an $85bn loan aimed at staving off imminent bankruptcy will place some of the strongest assets in the insurance business on the market.

The two-year bridge loan from the Federal Reserve, made at a punitive interest rate, is supposed to be repaid as early as possible. It is expected to kickstart the sale of AIG’s businesses and the complex task of unwinding billions of dollars of derivatives trades.