NEW YORK — Former American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg agreed to pay a $15 million fine to settle fraud charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday.

The charges are tied to an accounting scandal earlier this decade at AIG that led to Greenberg's ouster in 2005. The following year, AIG paid more than $1.6 billion to settle charges of improper accounting.

The case is unrelated to the government bailout of AIG, which is trying to sell assets to pay off the $182.5 billion in loans it has received since last September.

The SEC said AIG's former chief financial officer, Howard Smith, will pay a $1.5 million fine tied to the investigation.

MORGAN STANLEY BUYS BACK WARRANTS

NEW YORK — Morgan Stanley said yesterday it paid $950 million to buy back warrants from the government that could have eventually been converted to common shares in the bank.

New York-based Morgan Stanley issued the warrants to the Treasury Department as part of the loan package it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

As part of the program, Morgan Stanley received $10 billion in funding from the government to help bolster its balance sheet as credit markets essentially shut down. In exchange, the government received preferred shares in Morgan Stanley and the warrants to purchase common shares.

FANNIE MAE REQUESTS $10.7B MORE IN AID

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae plans to tap $11 billion in new government aid after posting another massive quarterly loss as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps growing.

The mounting price tag for the rescue of Fannie and its government-sponsored sibling, Freddie Mac, is surpassed only by insurer AIG Inc.

Fannie Mae's new request for $10.7 billion from the Treasury Department will bring the total for Fannie and Freddie to nearly $96 billion. Freddie is expected to report its quarterly results today.

The government has pledged up to $400 billion in aid for the two companies, which play a vital role in the mortgage market by purchasing loans from banks and selling them to investors.