NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — American International Group Inc., the insurer selling assets to repay a government loan, was cut to "underperform" by Wells Fargo & Co. because of the company's reliance on the federal bailout.

"Absent government support, the company would be out of business," Wells Fargo's John Hall said in a note on Friday on the New York-based insurer. "The US government owns almost 80 percent of AIG. The rest of us are just along for the ride." He previously rated the stock "market perform". Hall follows Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.'s Todd Bault and Thomas Gallagher of Credit Suisse Group AG in advising investors this month to sell AIG shares after the stock tripled in August. The insurer's obligations tied to the $182.5 billion bailout exceed the market value of the company's businesses, Hall said. "A reasonable case could be made that the company has virtually no tangible book value," Hall said.