NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Former American International Group Inc. head Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, who described the insurer as in "crisis" after a record fourth-quarter loss, said he may be reluctant to sell his shares "at this price".

AIG, the world's biggest insurer by assets, has dropped by a third this year, and selling is "not exactly a good idea" Greenberg, 83, said in a telephone interview yesterday. "But who knows, it might go lower."

Greenberg led AIG for almost four decades until Martin Sullivan replaced him as chief executive officer in 2005. He still controls the single-biggest stake and has criticised the performance of the company's board and executives. In yesterday's interview, Greenberg questioned their decision to raise more than $17 billion in cash by selling stock and debt.

"Shareholders' value has been diluted," Greenberg said. "That makes you unhappy, to say the least. Is it unreasonable for a shareholder to say, 'Gee, I'd like to see the share price go back to where it was?"'

AIG rose 79 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $39.16 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The company holds its annual meeting today and Greenberg said he doesn't plan to attend.