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VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Variable Interest Entities [Text Block]	16. VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES At times, the Company has utilized VIEs both indirectly and directly in the ordinary course of the Company’s business. The Company invests in CDOs, and other investment vehicles that are issued through variable interest entities as part of the Company’s investment portfolio. The activities of these VIEs are generally limited to holding the underlying collateral used to service investments therein. Our involvement in these entities is passive in nature and we are not the arranger of these entities. The Company has not been involved in establishing these entities. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these variable interest entities as contemplated in current authoritative accounting guidance. The Company has a limited number of remaining outstanding credit enhancement exposures, including written financial guarantee and credit default swap contracts. The obligations related to these transactions are often securitized through variable interest entities. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these variable interest entities as contemplated in current authoritative accounting guidance on the basis that management does not believe that the Company has the power to direct the activities, such as asset selection and collateral management, which most significantly impact each entity’s economic performance. For further details on the nature of the obligations and the size of the Company’s maximum exposure, see Note 14, “Derivative Instruments,” and Note 17(h), “Commitments and Contingencies – Financial and Other Guarantee Exposures”.

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

16. VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

At times, the Company has utilized VIEs both indirectly and directly in the ordinary course of the Company’s business.

The Company invests in CDOs, and other investment vehicles that are issued through variable interest entities as part of the Company’s investment portfolio. The activities of these VIEs are generally limited to holding the underlying collateral used to service investments therein. Our involvement in these entities is passive in nature and we are not the arranger of these entities. The Company has not been involved in establishing these entities. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these variable interest entities as contemplated in current authoritative accounting guidance.

The Company has a limited number of remaining outstanding credit enhancement exposures, including written financial guarantee and credit default swap contracts. The obligations related to these transactions are often securitized through variable interest entities. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these variable interest entities as contemplated in current authoritative accounting guidance on the basis that management does not believe that the Company has the power to direct the activities, such as asset selection and collateral management, which most significantly impact each entity’s economic performance. For further details on the nature of the obligations and the size of the Company’s maximum exposure, see Note 14, “Derivative Instruments,” and Note 17(h), “Commitments and Contingencies – Financial and Other Guarantee Exposures”.