MetLife posts its third quarterly loss in a row
METLIFE, the largest life insurer in the US, yesterday posted a quarterly loss, hurt by investment losses, some of which were tied to improvement in the company’s own credit spreads.
The group’s operating results in the latest quarter matched Wall Street expectations and the results showed growth in sales across most of MetLife’s business operations, both in US and international markets.
The net loss was $650m (£392m), compared with a profit of $600m in the year-ago quarter.
Operating income rose 18 per cent to $718m, matching expectations.
Chief executive Robert Henrikson said: “Our businesses are performing well as evidenced by increased sales in a number of product areas in both the US and internationally.”
The net loss included $1.4bn in after-tax investment losses, including about $582m in derivatives losses tied to improvement in the company’s own credit spreads.
Under accounting rules, when its own credit spreads improve, MetLife has to record a decline in the value of its insurance liabilities. This also led to a loss in the previous quarter.