The US government's latest aid to the troubled insurance giant American International Group (AIG) is critical, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Monday.

While answering questions raised by reporters, Gibbs did not rule out future help for the ailing insurer.

The government determined that doing nothing was unacceptable, Gibbs said, adding that the potential failure of AIG was too big a risk to take when the economy is in a recession.

Earlier Monday, the US government announced it would provide another US$30 billion to AIG to stave off collapse of the insurance giant.

The announcement came the same day as AIG, once the world's largest insurer, reported it lost US$61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, the biggest quarterly loss in US corporate history.

For all of last year, the insurer posted a net loss of US$99.3 billion.

In an effort to avert a potentially catastrophic collapse of AIG, the US government had already pumped some US$150 billion into the ailing company.

"The company continues to face significant challenges, driven by the rapid deterioration in certain financial markets in the last two months of the year and continued turbulence in the markets generally," the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve said Monday in a joint statement, announcing the aid.

"The additional resources will help stabilize the company, and in doing so help to stabilize the financial system," the statement said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2009)