BlackRock's Fink says government help needed for AIG: CNBC

BOSTON (Reuters) - American International Group Inc (AIG) (AIG.N) needs assistance from the U.S. government as it battles a cash crisis in order to ensure the stability of the market, the chief executive of U.S. money manager BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) said on Tuesday.

"I believe that for market stability and because of the nature of AIG and how involved it is in the global financial sweepstakes in terms of its insurance, in terms of corporations and individuals, there is going to be a need for some type of assistance from government," Laurence Fink told CNBC.

AIG shares closed down more than 21 percent at the official close on Tuesday to end the day at $3.75, and in after hours trade dropped almost 50 percent more on conflicting reports about whether government money might be used to bail out the insurer.

(Reporting by Muralikumar Anantharaman, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)