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Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

Commitments

The Company has made commitments to fund commercial loans. As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the outstanding balances on these commitments were $7 million and $15 million, respectively. The Company also made commitments to purchase or fund investments, mostly private fixed maturities. As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, $225 million and $196 million, respectively, of these commitments were outstanding.

Guarantees

In July 2017, the Company formed a joint venture with CT Corp to provide life insurance solutions in Indonesia. The Company owns a 49% interest in the joint venture and has entered into a shareholders agreement with CT Corp that set out their respective rights and obligations with respect to the joint venture. Among other things, the shareholders agreement obligates the Company and CT Corp to provide capital to the joint venture, as necessary to comply with applicable law or to maintain a specified minimum amount of capital in the joint venture. This obligation is not limited to a maximum amount. The Company does not expect to make any payments on this guarantee and is not carrying any liabilities associated with the guarantee.

Contingent Liabilities

On an ongoing basis, the Company’s internal supervisory and control functions review the quality of sales, marketing and other customer interface procedures and practices and may recommend modifications or enhancements. From time to time, this review process results in the discovery of product administration, servicing or other errors, including errors relating to the timing or amount of payments or contract values due to customers. In certain cases, if appropriate, the Company may offer customers remediation and may incur charges, including the cost of such remediation, administrative costs and regulatory fines.

The Company is subject to the laws and regulations of states and other jurisdictions concerning the identification, reporting and escheatment of unclaimed or abandoned funds, and is subject to audit and examination for compliance with these requirements. For additional discussion of these matters, see “Litigation and Regulatory Matters” below.

It is possible that the results of operations or the cash flows of the Company in a particular quarterly or annual period could be materially affected as a result of payments in connection with the matters discussed above or other matters depending, in part, upon the results of operations or cash flows for such period. Management believes, however, that ultimate payments in connection with these matters, after consideration of applicable reserves and rights to indemnification, should not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position.

Litigation and Regulatory Matters

The Company is subject to legal and regulatory actions in the ordinary course of its business. Pending legal and regulatory actions include proceedings specific to the Company and proceedings generally applicable to business practices in the industry in which it operates. The Company is subject to class action lawsuits and other litigation involving a variety of issues and allegations involving sales practices, claims payments and procedures, premium charges, policy servicing and breach of fiduciary duty to customers. The Company is also subject to litigation arising out of its general business activities, such as its investments, contracts, leases and labor and employment relationships, including claims of discrimination and harassment, and could be exposed to claims or litigation concerning certain business or process patents. In addition, the Company, along with other participants in the businesses in which it engages, may be subject from time to time to investigations, examinations and inquiries, in some cases industry-wide, concerning issues or matters upon which such regulators have determined to focus. In some of the Company’s pending legal and regulatory actions, parties are seeking large and/or indeterminate amounts, including punitive or exemplary damages. The outcome of litigation or a regulatory matter, and the amount or range of potential loss at any particular time, is often inherently uncertain.

The Company establishes accruals for litigation and regulatory matters when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of that loss can be reasonably estimated. For litigation and regulatory matters where a loss may be reasonably possible, but not probable, or is probable but not reasonably estimable, no accrual is established, but the matter, if material, is disclosed. The Company estimates that as of September 30, 2018, the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses in excess of accruals established for those litigation and regulatory matters for which such an estimate currently can be made is less than $100 million. This estimate is not an indication of expected loss, if any, or the Company's maximum possible loss exposure on such matters. The Company reviews relevant information with respect to its litigation and regulatory matters on a quarterly and annual basis and updates its accruals, disclosures and estimates of reasonably possible loss based on such reviews.

For a discussion of the Company's litigation and regulatory matters, see Note 11 to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Wells Fargo MyTerm Sales
In November 2018, the Company and Wells Fargo resolved the Company’s claims emanating from the MyTerm distribution agreement.
Behfarin v. Pruco Life
In September 2018, plaintiff filed a motion for class certification.
Escheatment Litigation
State of West Virginia ex. Rel. John D. Perdue v. Pruco Life
In September 2018, the case was dismissed with prejudice. This matter is now closed.

Securities Lending and Foreign Tax Reclaim Matter

In 2016, Prudential Financial self-reported to the SEC and the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL"), and notified other regulators, that in some cases it failed to maximize securities lending income for the benefit of certain separate account investments due to a long-standing restriction benefiting Prudential Financial that limited the availability of loanable securities. Prudential Financial has removed the restriction and implemented a remediation plan for the benefit of customers. As part of Prudential Financial’s review of this matter, in 2018 it further self-reported to the SEC, and notified other regulators, that in some cases it failed to timely process foreign tax reclaims for the separate account investments. Prudential Financial has corrected the foreign tax reclaim process and is implementing a remediation plan for the benefit of customers.

The DOL’s review of the securities lending matter is closed. Prudential Financial is cooperating with the SEC in its review of the securities lending and foreign tax reclaim matters (which includes a review of the remediation plans) and has entered into discussions with the SEC staff regarding a possible settlement of the securities lending matter that would potentially involve charges under the Investment Advisers Act and financial remedies. Prudential Financial cannot predict the outcome of the discussions with the SEC regarding the foreign tax reclaim matter or the possible settlement of the securities lending matter.

Summary
The Company’s litigation and regulatory matters are subject to many uncertainties, and given their complexity and scope, their outcome cannot be predicted. It is possible that the Company’s results of operations or cash flows in a particular quarterly or annual period could be materially affected by an ultimate unfavorable resolution of pending litigation and regulatory matters depending, in part, upon the results of operations or cash flows for such period. In light of the unpredictability of the Company’s litigation and regulatory matters, it is also possible that in certain cases an ultimate unfavorable resolution of one or more pending litigation or regulatory matters could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position. Management believes, however, that, based on information currently known to it, the ultimate outcome of all pending litigation and regulatory matters, after consideration of applicable reserves and rights to indemnification, is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position.