MetLife Not Likely To Challenge FSOC Despite Questionable Analysis

The decision by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to tag insurance company MetLife as a systematically significant institution was controversial. Now, Sterne Agee is adding fuel to a fire that will likely die out, as no further action from Met Life on the issue is expected.

In a research report today, Sterne Agee analysts John Nadel, Wesley Carmichael and Michael Ward concluded the FSOC report is “one-sided” and that it is “abundantly clear” the report “paid little attention to mitigating factors” MetLife uses to manage risk.

Regardless of the report’s reported flaws, MetLife is unlikely to take the unprecedented step of challenging the designation in court, the analysis predicted.

Analyzing MetLife

MetLife...