The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Friday it had received American International Group Inc's offer to buy back residential mortgage-backed securities taken over at height of the financial crisis.

AIG offered on Thursday to buy back, for $15.7 billion cash, residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) held in Maiden Lane II, an entity formed in late 2008 as part of AIG's bailout.

Any decision on a possible disposition of these assets will be made in a way that maximizes the proceeds to the taxpayer and that is consistent with the goal of fostering financial stability, the Fed said in a statement on its website.

The Fed said it has been aware of AIG's interest in those assets for some time.

(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Federal reserve