Bloomberg News takes a look at why those AIG counterparties -- who included Goldman Sachs -- weren't forced to take a haircut. No definitive answer, but some tantalizing details suggest that such a haircut was at least up for discussion:
Part of a sentence in the document was crossed out. It contained a blank space that was intended to show the amount of the haircut the banks would take, according to people who saw the term sheet. After less than a week of private negotiations with the banks, the New York Fed instructed AIG to pay them par, or 100 cents on the dollar. The content of its deliberations has never been made public.