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MetLife to shed bank holding statusPosted by RJ and Makay on Mar 23, 2012 |
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After failing to pass the Federal Reserve’s recent stress test, MetLife is moving to shed its bank holding status by the end of the second quarter, interim chief financial officer Eric Steigerwalt announced today. The Fed had blocked the insurer’s capital plans to increase its dividend and buy back stock because the company’s risk-based capital was less then the Fed required.
Hurricane Irene, which left 22 people dead in the eastern part of the U.S., caused $5 billion to $7 billion in damage. The storm’s estimated cost to insurers is estimated to be between $1.5 billion and $3 billion, according to Jose Miranda of Eqecat, Inc., a California risk management firm. This compares to damage projections last week of $14 billion when Irene was expected to make landfall in New York as a Category 2 hurricane.
Bank of America (BAC) announced Wednesday an agreement to pay $8.5 billion to settle claims by large investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities purchased before the 2008 housing collapse. It would be the largest settlement to date by any financial services firm tied to the subprime mortgage boom and subsequent bust.
