Exhibit 99.1
Contacts:
|
For Media: | John Calagna | ||
| (212) 578-6252 | ||||
| For Investors: | John McCallion | |||
| (212) 578-7888 |
METLIFE COMMENTS ON ANNOUNCEMENT BY
THE OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
& FEDERAL RESERVE
THE OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
& FEDERAL RESERVE
NEW YORK, April 13, 2011 — MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET), a bank holding company, with MetLife Bank
N.A. as its banking subsidiary, issued the following statement:
Earlier today, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve
announced they have entered into consent decrees with several banks, including MetLife Bank, which
set forth new residential mortgage servicing standards. In addition, the Federal Reserve entered
into consent decrees with the affiliated bank holding companies of these banks, including MetLife,
Inc., to enhance the supervision of their banking subsidiaries.
Meeting all applicable legal and regulatory servicing requirements is, and has been, an important
priority of MetLife Bank. Enhancing communications with customers regarding their home retention
options is a primary focus of the new servicing standards. MetLife Bank either has implemented, or
is in the process of implementing, many of these standards.
MetLife, Inc. has committed to further enhance its oversight of MetLife Bank’s risk management,
audit and compliance programs as they relate to the bank’s residential mortgage loan servicing,
loss mitigation and foreclosure activities.
MetLife Bank services approximately one percent of the U.S. home mortgage market and has not
experienced the high volume of foreclosures that many larger servicers have experienced. MetLife
Bank has never issued and does not own nontraditional mortgage products such as pay-option ARMs and
sub-prime loans, which have the highest rate of default. Since it entered the mortgage servicing
business in 2008, MetLife Bank consistently has received high servicing quality and loss mitigation
ratings from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Freddie Mac.
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About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs,
serving 90 million customers in over 60 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates,
MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific,
Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
This press release may contain or incorporate by reference information that includes or is
based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give expectations or forecasts of future events.
These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or
current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,”
“plan,” “believe,” “continue,” “will,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection
with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include
statements relating to future actions, prospective services or products, future performance or
results of current and anticipated services or products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of
contingencies such as legal proceedings, trends in operations and financial results.
Any or all forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate
assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in
determining the actual future results of MetLife, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. These
statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. They involve a
number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These statements are not
guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors that might cause
such differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in MetLife, Inc.’s
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These factors include: (1)
difficult conditions in the global capital markets; (2) increased volatility and disruption of the
capital and credit markets, which may affect our ability to seek financing or access our credit
facilities; (3) uncertainty about the effectiveness of the U.S. government’s programs to stabilize
the financial system, the imposition of fees relating thereto, or the promulgation of additional
regulations; (4) impact of comprehensive financial services regulation reform on us; (5) exposure
to financial and capital market risk; (6) changes in general economic conditions, including the
performance of financial markets and interest rates, which may affect our ability to raise capital,
generate fee income and market-related revenue and finance statutory reserve requirements and may
require us to pledge collateral or make payments related to declines in value of specified assets;
(7) potential liquidity and other risks resulting from our participation in a securities lending
program and other transactions; (8) investment losses and defaults, and changes to investment
valuations; (9) impairments of goodwill and realized losses or market value impairments to illiquid
assets; (10) defaults on our mortgage loans; (11) the impairment of other financial institutions
that could adversely affect our investments or business; (12) our ability to address unforeseen
liabilities, asset impairments, loss of key contractual relationships, or rating actions arising
from acquisitions or dispositions, including our acquisition of American Life Insurance Company and
Delaware American Life Insurance Company (collectively, “ALICO”) and to successfully integrate and
manage the growth of acquired businesses with minimal disruption; (13) uncertainty with respect to
the outcome of the closing agreement entered into with the United States Internal Revenue Service
in connection with the acquisition of ALICO; (14) uncertainty with respect to any incremental tax
benefits resulting from the planned elections for ALICO and certain of its subsidiaries under
Section 338 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; (15) the dilutive impact on our
stockholders resulting from the issuance of equity securities in connection with the acquisition of
ALICO or otherwise; (16) economic, political, currency and other risks relating to our
international operations, including with respect to fluctuations of exchange rates; (17) our
primary reliance, as a holding company, on dividends from our subsidiaries to meet debt payment
obligations and the applicable regulatory restrictions on the ability of the subsidiaries to pay
such dividends; (18) downgrades in our claims paying ability, financial strength or credit ratings;
(19) ineffectiveness of risk management policies and procedures; (20) availability and
effectiveness of reinsurance or indemnification arrangements, as well as default or failure of
counterparties to perform; (21) discrepancies between actual claims experience and assumptions used
in setting prices for our products and establishing the liabilities for our obligations for future
policy benefits and claims; (22) catastrophe losses; (23) heightened competition, including with
respect to pricing, entry of new competitors, consolidation of distributors, the development of new
products by new and existing competitors, distribution of amounts available under U.S. government
programs, and for personnel; (24) unanticipated changes in industry trends; (25) changes in
accounting standards, practices and/or policies; (26) changes in assumptions related to
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deferred policy acquisition costs, deferred sales inducements, value of business acquired or
goodwill; (27) increased expenses relating to pension and postretirement benefit plans, as well as
health care and other employee benefits; (28) exposure to losses related to variable annuity
guarantee benefits, including from significant and sustained downturns or extreme volatility in
equity markets, reduced interest rates, unanticipated policyholder behavior, mortality or
longevity, and the adjustment for nonperformance risk; (29) deterioration in the experience of the
“closed block” established in connection with the reorganization of Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company; (30) adverse results or other consequences from litigation, arbitration or regulatory
investigations; (31) inability to protect our intellectual property rights or claims of
infringement of the intellectual property rights of others, (32) discrepancies between actual
experience and assumptions used in establishing liabilities related to other contingencies or
obligations; (33) regulatory, legislative or tax changes relating to our insurance, banking,
international, or other operations that may affect the cost of, or demand for, our products or
services, impair our ability to attract and retain talented and experienced management and other
employees, or increase the cost or administrative burdens of providing benefits to employees; (34)
the effects of business disruption or economic contraction due to terrorism, other hostilities, or
natural catastrophes, including any related impact on our disaster recovery systems and management
continuity planning which could impair our ability to conduct business effectively; (35) the
effectiveness of our programs and practices in avoiding giving our associates incentives to take
excessive risks; and (36) other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in MetLife,
Inc.’s filings with the SEC.
MetLife, Inc. does not undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking
statement if we later become aware that such statement is not likely to be achieved. Please consult
any further disclosures MetLife, Inc. makes on related subjects in reports to the SEC.
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