EMC’s Business Finance blog

American International Group (AIG) joined the ranks of the credit crisis’s biggest losers Thursday, reporting a $7.81 billion first-quarter loss and announcing plans to raise $12.5 billion in fresh capital as losses on complex securities soared.

The insurer said profits were hurt by a $9.11 billion hit on its portfolio of derivatives sold to hedge securities that have plunged in value and $6.82 billion in losses on investments. AIG reported another $6.82 billion in impairments that for accounting reasons only showed up on its balance sheet.

The blows brought AIG’s total write-downs and losses from the credit crisis to more than $30 billion, with another $9 billion-plus in damage just to the balance sheet, putting the insurer in the same league as UBS AG (UBS), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER).