Nine of the ten executives who received controversial bonuses at the US insurance giant AIG have agreed to return them.
New York's attorney general Andrew Cuomo claimed he hoped to recoup $80 million (£55 million) of the bonuses, which equates to about half of the massive $165 million (£112 million) payment originally paid out two weeks ago.
The pay-outs caused huge anger in the United States as the insurer had received in $170 billion (£115 billion) bail-out funds since September last year.
AIG reported losses of $61.7 billion (£41.9 billion) for the last three months in 2008, making it the largest quarterly loss in corporate history.
Announcing the returned bonuses, Mr Cuomo said: "I would like to say this to the individuals who have given the money back. You have done the right thing.
"You have done what this country now needs and demands."
US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner is due to face questions later today on how to reform the US financial system.
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