MetLife Approves $1 Billion Share Buyback
December 15, 2014 by Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Insurance company MetLife Inc. said Friday that its board approved spending up to $1 billion more to buy back its own stock.
It has spent $967.1 million of a $1 billion buyback program launched in June, which was its first repurchase plan in about six years.
CEO Steven Kandarian said that the company wanted to reward MetLife’s shareholders even as its “approach to capital management remains cautious in light of regulatory uncertainty.”
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a U.S. regulator, has proposed labeling MetLife Inc. as “systemically important,” meaning it is a potential threat to the financial system, a designation that brings stricter government oversight. If the designation becomes final, MetLife would have to increase its cushion of capital against losses, limit its use of borrowed money and submit to inspections by examiners.
The council must vote a second time for the systemically important label to become final for MetLife.
Shares of New York-based MetLife have gained 7.9 percent over the past 12 months.
