LONDON (Reuters) - European banks declined to discuss a report that they were beneficiaries of the $173 billion bail-out of insurer AIG that has sparked political furore in the United States.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and a host of other US and European banks had been paid roughly $50 billion since the Federal Reserve first extended aid to AIG, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

French banks Societe Generale and Calyon on Sunday declined to comment on the story, as did Deutsche Bank, Britain's Barclays and unlisted Dutch group Rabobank.

Other banks mentioned in the Journal's article include HSBC , Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, Banco Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland.