|
The company, the largest U.S. insurer,
unsuccessfully contested the decision by the Financial Stability
Oversight Council (FSOC) in a hearing last month, and a lawsuit
was its last resort to escape being overseen by the Federal
Reserve.
The designation of MetLife as a so-called "systemically
important" company would make insurance products more expensive
without actually enhancing financial stability, it said.
"FSOC’s designation of MetLife is premature," MetLife's head
Steve Kandarian was quoted as saying in a statement. "The
Council should wait until the rules are in place and it knows
the impact on designated firms."
The remark was a reference to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which
has yet to come up with capital rules for insurers. The industry
is often skeptical that the central bank, which has long
overseen banking, knows enough about insurance.
The 2010 Dodd-Frank act to reform Wall Street after the
2008-2009 financial crisis put more onerous regulatory demands
on the largest banks, and also authorized FSOC to subject other
large and risky firms such as insurers to a similar regime.
AIG, which almost collapsed during the credit meltdown, is now
overseen by the Fed, as is Prudential Financial Inc. Including
MetLife, the Fed oversees almost a third of the entire industry
in America, a study showed last year.
MetLife said it had filed its lawsuit in the District Court of
the District of Columbia. It had hired Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as its law firms.
Eugene Scalia, a lawyer at Gibson Dunn, is on MetLife's team to
help it with the lawsuit. The son of Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia, he has a track record of successfully fighting
decisions by federal regulators.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
