The Obama administration's compensation czar announced Wednesday that it will initiate a new round of bonus payments to employees of American International Group Inc.'s financial-products division, but acknowledged that he is constrained by guarantees the company made to employees years ago.

AIG has initiated a hard work with a view to cut the payments, Mr. Feinberg said, outlining that the latest round of payments represents the final batch of retention bonuses under the 2007 contracts.

The bailed-out insurance giant would pay $100 million to employees at Financial Products, a year after $168 million in similar payments to the same set of frenzied employees.

Majorly the recent bonuses are diverted to those 97% employees who agreed to accept 10% less money than AIG had promised in return for early payment.

The tally was far lower -- about 35 percent -- among former employees still eligible for the payments, who were asked to accept a 20 percent discount. Together, the concessions added up to about $20 million.

Feinberg revealed that he will initiate a step to urge AIG chief executive Robert Benmosche to try to renegotiate the remaining contracts.

In addition, he emphasized that as he initiates to set 2010 compensation for the highest-paid employees at AIG and other firms abiding by his limitations, he can consider bonuses that those employees have received, even if the law doesn't permit him to tinker.