Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq GS: LPHI), parent company of Life Partners, Inc., announces today’s payment of a special cash dividend of $0.04 per share to shareholders of record as of January 31, 2011. Authorization of this special cash dividend was previously announced on January 6, 2011.
LPHI currently owns approximately 20% of the Life Settlement Trust which holds a portfolio of 266 life settlements with a face value of $689 million. This special dividend is based on the accumulated payouts from the Life Settlement Trust and is in addition to the company’s regular quarterly dividends.
The company plans to review accumulated payouts from the trust on a quarterly basis and to consider making a special dividend distribution when the payout accumulation reaches at least $750,000 at the end of a quarter.
Life Partners is the world's oldest and one of the most active companies in the United States engaged in the secondary market for life insurance, commonly called “life settlements.” Since its incorporation in 1991, Life Partners has completed over 128,000 transactions for its worldwide client base of over 27,000 high net worth individuals and institutions in connection with the purchase of over 6,400 policies totaling over $2.8 billion in face value.
Disclosure YES I am long LPHI shares.
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying Like Crazy
For the past eight weeks, Insider Monkey has been publishing articles about the stocks insiders were buying like crazy. The stocksthey listed in the first 6 articles have performed spectacularly compared to the S&P 500. Having slightly underperformed the S&P 500 index during the seventh week.
Overall, insiders are better at investing than outsiders because they know more about their companies than do most investors. This holds especially true for smaller companies, which are either followed by only a few analysts or none at all. Academic studies conducted during the past 40 years confirm that stocks bought by several insiders outperform the market by about 7 percentage points per year in those studies.
Last week, I brought 3 more companies insiders are buying to your attention. Here are their performance numbers since we highlighted them:
1. A. Schulman Inc (SHLM): Barington’s James Mitarotonda bought more than 15,000 shares during the past few days. In his last transaction, he paid $21.35, which was also the closing price for the stock on Friday, Jan 21st. Schulman’s Chief Marketing Officer, Paul R. Boulier, purchased 1,200 shares at $21.08 a few days earlier than Mitarotonda did. Schulman lost 0.7% during the past five trading days, underperformed the S&P 500 index which lost 0.5%.
2. Advanced Photonix Inc (API): Advanced Photonix made our list about a month ago. That time it returned 21% in one week, reaching $1.9 per share. API lost 0.6% last week.
3. Winmark (WINA): Winmark also underperformed the market last week, losing 1.4%.
This has been the worst weeks so far for our insider purchases. The average return for these three stocks was -0.9% vs. -0.5% for SPY. Currently insiders aren’t buying a lot of stocks. They are contrarian investors. They usually buy after large price declines, not price increases.
1. Trustco Bank Corp (TRST): This is a solid bank with a 4.3% dividend yield, and a P/E ratio of 15.9. It doesn’t seem to be a cheap stock, yet an insider purchased 5,000 shares at around $6.15 per share. On Friday, the stock closed at $6.05. There were several insider purchases in this stock a year ago when the stock price was around, you guessed it, $6. The stock underperformed the market last year, and we don’t think it’s going to deliver 20+% returns per year. It seems like a solid dividend stock which is more attractive than bonds. For the sake of following insiders’ performance, we won’t exclude this stock from our calculations.
2. Bank of Hawaii (BOH): This is also a solid bank with a 3.8% dividend yield and a P/E ratio of 12.3. It seems like a better long term buy then TRST. Insiders have been buying since the end of October when the stock price was $43.5. The latest insider purchase was on Wednesday, at $45.76. The stock closed the week at $46.76. Bank of Hawaii was downgraded on Tuesday, and this triggered a two day slide. This also gave our insider an opportunity to buy company shares at a small discount. A year ago the stock was trading at around the same level and there were several insider purchases. BOH also seems like a solid dividend stock which is more attractive than bonds.
3. RLI Corp (RLI): These are the types of insiders Insider Monkey likes. RLI Corp reported its fourth quarter earnings on Monday night and the results exceeded analysts’ expectations by a large margin. The consensus was earnings of $0.98 per share, but RLI reported $1.66 per share. The company’s P/E ratio is 10 based on its operating earnings and it is less than 9 based on its comprehensive earnings. The company’s management is taking steps that will benefit shareholders rather than themselves. They paid a special dividend of $7 per share in December, in addition to their regular dividend which has a 2.2% yield. Recently, they acquired a Seattle based private insurance company for $137 million which should contribute to their earnings as well.
Disclosure: I do not own any of these stocks at the time of this writing no plans to buy any in the future.
Overall, insiders are better at investing than outsiders because they know more about their companies than do most investors. This holds especially true for smaller companies, which are either followed by only a few analysts or none at all. Academic studies conducted during the past 40 years confirm that stocks bought by several insiders outperform the market by about 7 percentage points per year in those studies.
Last week, I brought 3 more companies insiders are buying to your attention. Here are their performance numbers since we highlighted them:
1. A. Schulman Inc (SHLM): Barington’s James Mitarotonda bought more than 15,000 shares during the past few days. In his last transaction, he paid $21.35, which was also the closing price for the stock on Friday, Jan 21st. Schulman’s Chief Marketing Officer, Paul R. Boulier, purchased 1,200 shares at $21.08 a few days earlier than Mitarotonda did. Schulman lost 0.7% during the past five trading days, underperformed the S&P 500 index which lost 0.5%.
2. Advanced Photonix Inc (API): Advanced Photonix made our list about a month ago. That time it returned 21% in one week, reaching $1.9 per share. API lost 0.6% last week.
3. Winmark (WINA): Winmark also underperformed the market last week, losing 1.4%.
This has been the worst weeks so far for our insider purchases. The average return for these three stocks was -0.9% vs. -0.5% for SPY. Currently insiders aren’t buying a lot of stocks. They are contrarian investors. They usually buy after large price declines, not price increases.
1. Trustco Bank Corp (TRST): This is a solid bank with a 4.3% dividend yield, and a P/E ratio of 15.9. It doesn’t seem to be a cheap stock, yet an insider purchased 5,000 shares at around $6.15 per share. On Friday, the stock closed at $6.05. There were several insider purchases in this stock a year ago when the stock price was around, you guessed it, $6. The stock underperformed the market last year, and we don’t think it’s going to deliver 20+% returns per year. It seems like a solid dividend stock which is more attractive than bonds. For the sake of following insiders’ performance, we won’t exclude this stock from our calculations.
2. Bank of Hawaii (BOH): This is also a solid bank with a 3.8% dividend yield and a P/E ratio of 12.3. It seems like a better long term buy then TRST. Insiders have been buying since the end of October when the stock price was $43.5. The latest insider purchase was on Wednesday, at $45.76. The stock closed the week at $46.76. Bank of Hawaii was downgraded on Tuesday, and this triggered a two day slide. This also gave our insider an opportunity to buy company shares at a small discount. A year ago the stock was trading at around the same level and there were several insider purchases. BOH also seems like a solid dividend stock which is more attractive than bonds.
3. RLI Corp (RLI): These are the types of insiders Insider Monkey likes. RLI Corp reported its fourth quarter earnings on Monday night and the results exceeded analysts’ expectations by a large margin. The consensus was earnings of $0.98 per share, but RLI reported $1.66 per share. The company’s P/E ratio is 10 based on its operating earnings and it is less than 9 based on its comprehensive earnings. The company’s management is taking steps that will benefit shareholders rather than themselves. They paid a special dividend of $7 per share in December, in addition to their regular dividend which has a 2.2% yield. Recently, they acquired a Seattle based private insurance company for $137 million which should contribute to their earnings as well.
Disclosure: I do not own any of these stocks at the time of this writing no plans to buy any in the future.
I sure should have looked the other way on the day I bought this stock.............
Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas on behalf of a class (the “Class”) of investors who purchased Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (“LPHI” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:LPHI - News) common stock between the period of May 29, 2007 through January 20, 2011.
The Complaint alleges LPHI and certain of its officers and directors with violating federal securities laws by failing to disclose that: (i) the Company had routinely used unrealistic life expectancy data that produced inaccurate short life expectancy reports, which were used to sell life settlement policies to investors; (ii) the Company had purposely concealed the historical rate in which individuals insured by life settlement policies sold by Life Partners had lived past the life expectancy rates previously provided to investors, such that the Company’s investors were unable to assess the accuracy or reliability of such data; (iii) that by underestimating life expectancy data to investors, the Company was able to charge substantially larger fees when brokering life settlement policies; and (iv) that the Company’s reported revenues had been inaccurately inflated through the employment of such business practice.
As a result, the Company’s statements concerning LPHI’s business prospects and financial performance were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On December 21, 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that Life Partners “has made large fees from its life-insurance transactions while often significantly underestimating the life expectancies” of insured individuals. On January 20, 2011, Life Partners confirmed an SEC investigation of Life Partners.
In a reaction to this news, shares of LPHI common stock fell $2.58 per share to close on January 20, 2011 at $12.46 per share, representing a drop of more than 17%.
If you purchased LPHI common stock between May 29, 2007 through January 20, 2011 and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this action, you must move the Court no later than April 4, 2011. Any member of the proposed class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed class.
If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact: Jack G. Fruchter or Arthur J. Chen of Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP toll free at (800) 440-8986, or via e-mail at info@aftlaw.com or achen@aftlaw.com.
Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP has extensive experience in securities class action cases, and the firm has been ranked among the leading class action law firms in terms of recoveries achieved by a survey of class action law firms conducted by Institutional Shareholder Services.
Disclosure I am long LPHI shares and will ride it out that is how I play the Game. Hiding my bp shares lol.
The Complaint alleges LPHI and certain of its officers and directors with violating federal securities laws by failing to disclose that: (i) the Company had routinely used unrealistic life expectancy data that produced inaccurate short life expectancy reports, which were used to sell life settlement policies to investors; (ii) the Company had purposely concealed the historical rate in which individuals insured by life settlement policies sold by Life Partners had lived past the life expectancy rates previously provided to investors, such that the Company’s investors were unable to assess the accuracy or reliability of such data; (iii) that by underestimating life expectancy data to investors, the Company was able to charge substantially larger fees when brokering life settlement policies; and (iv) that the Company’s reported revenues had been inaccurately inflated through the employment of such business practice.
As a result, the Company’s statements concerning LPHI’s business prospects and financial performance were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On December 21, 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that Life Partners “has made large fees from its life-insurance transactions while often significantly underestimating the life expectancies” of insured individuals. On January 20, 2011, Life Partners confirmed an SEC investigation of Life Partners.
In a reaction to this news, shares of LPHI common stock fell $2.58 per share to close on January 20, 2011 at $12.46 per share, representing a drop of more than 17%.
If you purchased LPHI common stock between May 29, 2007 through January 20, 2011 and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this action, you must move the Court no later than April 4, 2011. Any member of the proposed class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed class.
If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact: Jack G. Fruchter or Arthur J. Chen of Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP toll free at (800) 440-8986, or via e-mail at info@aftlaw.com or achen@aftlaw.com.
Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP has extensive experience in securities class action cases, and the firm has been ranked among the leading class action law firms in terms of recoveries achieved by a survey of class action law firms conducted by Institutional Shareholder Services.
Disclosure I am long LPHI shares and will ride it out that is how I play the Game. Hiding my bp shares lol.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Caterpillar Unit to Buy Land From Hemaraj for Thailand Plant
An Australian subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc(CAT). signed a contract to buy 140 rais of land at an industrial estate in Thailand owned by Hemaraj Land & Development Pcl, the Thai company said today in a statement.
About Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines worldwide. Its Machinery business engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sale of construction, mining, and forestry machinery, such as track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. This business also involves in the design, manufacture, remanufacture, maintenance, and service of rail-related products, as well as offers logistics services. The company's Engines business designs, manufactures, markets, and sells engines for electric power generation systems, locomotives, marine, petroleum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications; and related parts. This business also provides remanufacturing services for other companies. Its Financial Products business provides various financing alternatives to customers and dealers for the company's machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans to customers and dealers. This business also provides various forms of insurance to customers and dealers to support the purchase and lease of its equipment. Caterpillar markets its products through distribution centers. The company was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.
Disclosure I am Long CAT shares.
About Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines worldwide. Its Machinery business engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sale of construction, mining, and forestry machinery, such as track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. This business also involves in the design, manufacture, remanufacture, maintenance, and service of rail-related products, as well as offers logistics services. The company's Engines business designs, manufactures, markets, and sells engines for electric power generation systems, locomotives, marine, petroleum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications; and related parts. This business also provides remanufacturing services for other companies. Its Financial Products business provides various financing alternatives to customers and dealers for the company's machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans to customers and dealers. This business also provides various forms of insurance to customers and dealers to support the purchase and lease of its equipment. Caterpillar markets its products through distribution centers. The company was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.
Disclosure I am Long CAT shares.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Second Quarter's Best and Worst Commodities
Quick! Name the best-performing single-commodity exchange-traded product (ETP) of the second quarter.
No, it's not a gold trust; the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE Arca: GLD) came in third. It's actually the exchange-traded note tracking coffee's price, the iPath DJ-UBS Coffee Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSE Arca: JO).
Surprised?
Well, the second quarter was full of surprises for commodity investors. Unfortunately, most of them were unpleasant.
Of 17 single-commodity or narrowly focused products, only four turned a profit. The winners netted an average 12.1 percent gain, while the average loser gave up 9.9 percent.
We sought out the most liquid single-commodity ETPs to see how well they tracked the spot market over the last three months. When we couldn't find single-commodity ETPs to represent a sector of the futures market, we used the narrowest instruments; that is, two or three commodities wide.
Overall, ETPs—based upon their last sale prices—did a fair job of tracking spot market commodities. The average apparent return for the 17 ETPs was -4.7 percent, while the contemporaneous mean return for the underlying spot commodities was -2.7 percent.
But let's run the numbers asset by asset.
Precious Metals
In a normal futures market, carrying charges—financing costs, storage charges and insurance fees—build up along the futures term structure to make contracts for deferred delivery more expensive than futures for near-term delivery. This condition, often referred to as contango, is expected when there's ample supply of a storable commodity.
An inverted market, on the other hand, exists when deferred deliveries are priced below nearby ones. A dearth of storable supply is usually the culprit.
Normal markets are costly for holders of ETPs based upon long-only futures indexes. In order to maintain exposure to the commodity, futures positions must be rolled forward as contracts approach expiry. In a normal market, that means higher-priced contracts will be purchased with the proceeds from lower-priced futures sales. This incremental loss—or negative roll yield—eats into returns.
That said, the slight disparity in the palladium trust's return vs. spot is a liquidity artifact. The last sale prices reported on the tape don't necessarily reflect the current markets for ETPs. The less actively an ETP trades, the greater the discrepancy between the last sale price and the current bid/offer spread.
This should be kept in mind when considering the apparent returns of light-volume exchange-traded notes.
Base Metals
Energy
Softs
Grains
The Final Tally
In the first quarter, 75 percent of single-commodity and narrowly focused ETPs were winners. The platinum and palladium products were the top performers, along with the livestock ETN. But in the second quarter, the situation reversed: Losers outnumbered winners by better than 3-to-1. Coffee led the way in the second quarter, followed by natural gas.
The worst performers in the year's second stanza were the industrial metals—lead, copper and nickel. In the first quarter, sugar, natural gas and grains brought up the rear.
While there's been jockeying for best and worst honors, gold and silver take the prize for consistency in the first half.
Disclosure I am Long GLD n SLV shares
No, it's not a gold trust; the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE Arca: GLD) came in third. It's actually the exchange-traded note tracking coffee's price, the iPath DJ-UBS Coffee Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSE Arca: JO).
Surprised?
Well, the second quarter was full of surprises for commodity investors. Unfortunately, most of them were unpleasant.
Of 17 single-commodity or narrowly focused products, only four turned a profit. The winners netted an average 12.1 percent gain, while the average loser gave up 9.9 percent.
We sought out the most liquid single-commodity ETPs to see how well they tracked the spot market over the last three months. When we couldn't find single-commodity ETPs to represent a sector of the futures market, we used the narrowest instruments; that is, two or three commodities wide.
Overall, ETPs—based upon their last sale prices—did a fair job of tracking spot market commodities. The average apparent return for the 17 ETPs was -4.7 percent, while the contemporaneous mean return for the underlying spot commodities was -2.7 percent.
But let's run the numbers asset by asset.
Precious Metals
Commodity | Spot Gain/ (Loss) | Futures Term Structure | ETP Ticker | ETP Type | ETP Gain/ Loss | +/- 200-Day Average |
| CMX Gold | 11.7% | Normal | TST | 11.7% | 8.1% | |
| CMX Silver | 6.2% | Normal | TST | 6.2% | 5.5% | |
| NYMX Platinum | -8.0% | Normal | ETN | -7.2% | -4.6% | |
| NYMX Palladium | -8.0% | Normal | TST | -7.5% | -6.8% |
Key: TST = Grantor Trust; ETN = Exchange-Traded Note
Gold and silver grantor trusts topped the precious metals group in the second quarter, partly because the trusts hold metal and aren't based upon a futures index. Of course, the underlying commodities increased over the period, but the product didn't get in the way of the gain's realization.In a normal futures market, carrying charges—financing costs, storage charges and insurance fees—build up along the futures term structure to make contracts for deferred delivery more expensive than futures for near-term delivery. This condition, often referred to as contango, is expected when there's ample supply of a storable commodity.
An inverted market, on the other hand, exists when deferred deliveries are priced below nearby ones. A dearth of storable supply is usually the culprit.
Normal markets are costly for holders of ETPs based upon long-only futures indexes. In order to maintain exposure to the commodity, futures positions must be rolled forward as contracts approach expiry. In a normal market, that means higher-priced contracts will be purchased with the proceeds from lower-priced futures sales. This incremental loss—or negative roll yield—eats into returns.
That said, the slight disparity in the palladium trust's return vs. spot is a liquidity artifact. The last sale prices reported on the tape don't necessarily reflect the current markets for ETPs. The less actively an ETP trades, the greater the discrepancy between the last sale price and the current bid/offer spread.
This should be kept in mind when considering the apparent returns of light-volume exchange-traded notes.
Base Metals
Commodity | Spot Gain/ (Loss) | Futures Term Structure | ETP Ticker | ETP Type | ETP Gain/ Loss | +/- 200-Day Average |
| CMX Copper | -18.0% | Normal | ETN | -19.1% | -11.4% | |
| LME Lead | -18.6% | Normal | ETN | -18.9% | -18.5% | |
| LME Nickel | -19.1% | Normal | ETN | -23.5% | -8.2% |
Key: ETN = Exchange-Traded Note
The market for industrial metals was weak in the second quarter, reflecting the slackened demand for durable goods and housing. The apparent spread between the ETP returns and the spot market is, again, due to timing and contango.Energy
Commodity | Spot Gain/ (Loss) | Futures Term Structure | ETP Ticker | ETP Type | ETP Gain/ Loss | +/- 200-Day Average |
| NYMX Crude Oil | -9.6% | Normal | ETF | -9.8% | -9.8% | |
| NYMX Gasoline | -10.3% | Inverted/Normal | ETF | -5.8% | -5.8% | |
| NYMX Heating Oil | -2.9% | Normal | ETF | -6.0% | -6.0% | |
| NYMX Natural Gas | 19.8% | Normal | ETF | 12.2% | -8.7% |
Key: ETF = Exchange-Traded Fund
Natural gas turned in the standout performance in the energy category, though deep contango in the futures term structure ate up a lot of the spot market gain. Carrying charges seemed to have also reduced the returns for the heating oil and crude oil exchange-trade funds. The large disparity between the gasoline ETF's return and its spot market is due to gasoline's unstable term structure over the second quarter.Softs
Commodity | Spot Gain/ (Loss) | Futures Term Structure | ETP Ticker | ETP Type | ETP Gain/ Loss | +/- 200-Day Average |
| ICE Coffee | 21.5% | Normal/Inverted | ETN | -18.5% | 17.1% | |
| ICE Cocoa | -0.4% | Normal | ETN | -1.2% | -4.9% | |
| ICE Cotton | -5.1% | Inverted/Normal | ETN | -3.0% | -0.2% | |
| ICE Sugar | -3.3% | Inverted/Normal | ETN | -7.0% | -23.4% |
Key: ETN = Exchange-Traded Note
Among the softs, coffee was the clear winner. Still, soft ETNs are lightly traded, so the differences between the products' apparent returns and their underlying markets can seem large.Grains
Commodity | Spot Gain/ (Loss) | Futures Term Structure | ETP Ticker | ETP Type | ETP Gain/ Loss | +/- 200-Day Average |
| CBOT Corn, Wheat, Soybeans | 0.7%* | Normal/Inverted | ETN | -0.7% | -6.1% |
Key: ETN = Exchange-Traded Note
*Spot returns are composites weighted by the constituent commodities' ETP allocations
Grains—in particular, corn and wheat—jumped on the last day of the quarter following U.S. Department of Agriculture reports of lighter-than-expected plantings.
LivestockCommodity | Spot Gain/ (Loss) | Futures Term Structure | ETP Ticker | ETP Type | ETP Gain/ Loss | +/- 200-Day Average |
| CME Live Cattle, Lean Hogs | -0.3%* | Normal/Inverted | ETN | -3.4% | -0.8% |
Key: ETN = Exchange-Traded Note
*Spot returns are composites weighted by the constituent commodities' ETP allocations
While grain prices broke to the upside, livestock prices spent most of the quarter backing off from the parabolic run-ups of the previous year.The Final Tally
In the first quarter, 75 percent of single-commodity and narrowly focused ETPs were winners. The platinum and palladium products were the top performers, along with the livestock ETN. But in the second quarter, the situation reversed: Losers outnumbered winners by better than 3-to-1. Coffee led the way in the second quarter, followed by natural gas.
The worst performers in the year's second stanza were the industrial metals—lead, copper and nickel. In the first quarter, sugar, natural gas and grains brought up the rear.
While there's been jockeying for best and worst honors, gold and silver take the prize for consistency in the first half.
Disclosure I am Long GLD n SLV shares
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
5 bank failures bring 2009 tally to 89
Five banks in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Arizona were closed by regulators Friday, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures in 2009 to 89 as the effects of the credit crisis continue to ripple through the financial system.
Two suburban Chicago banks failed in Illinois, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said:
InBank, the 14th bank to fail in Illinois this year, had $199 million in deposits as of Aug. 3, the agency said. Chicago-based MB Financial Bank has agreed to assume its deposits. InBank's failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $66 million.
Platinum Bank of Rolling Meadows was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. As of Aug. 29, the bank had total assets of $345.6 million and deposits of $305 million, the FDIC said. The FDIC authorized payout of insured deposits and estimated the cost to its Deposit Insurance Fund will be $114.3 million. MB Financial Bank will accept the failed bank's direct deposits from the federal government.
Kansas City, Mo.-based First Bank of Kansas City also was closed by regulators. The FDIC said. De Soto, Kan.-based Great American Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits. First Bank of Kansas City had $16 million in assets and $15 million in deposits as of June 30, the regulator said. Its failure is expected to cost the federal deposit-insurance fund $6 million. First Bank of Kansas City is the second Missouri-based bank to fail this year, the FDIC added.
Sioux City, Iowa-based Vantus Bank and Oak Forest, Ill.-based InBank also were closed. Vantus Bank had roughly $368 million in deposits as of Aug. 28, the FDIC said, and Springfield, Mo.-based Great Southern Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits. The failure of Vantus Bank will cost the deposit insurance fund $168 million. It's the first bank to fail in Iowa this year, according to the FDIC.
In Arizona, First State Bank in Flagstaff was closed and Sunwest Bank of Tustin, Calif., will assume all of its deposits, the FDIC said. As of July 24, First State had total assets of $105 million and total deposits of about $95 million, the FDIC said. The failure will cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $47 million, the FDIC said.
Disclosure NONE.
Two suburban Chicago banks failed in Illinois, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said:
InBank, the 14th bank to fail in Illinois this year, had $199 million in deposits as of Aug. 3, the agency said. Chicago-based MB Financial Bank has agreed to assume its deposits. InBank's failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $66 million.
Platinum Bank of Rolling Meadows was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. As of Aug. 29, the bank had total assets of $345.6 million and deposits of $305 million, the FDIC said. The FDIC authorized payout of insured deposits and estimated the cost to its Deposit Insurance Fund will be $114.3 million. MB Financial Bank will accept the failed bank's direct deposits from the federal government.
Kansas City, Mo.-based First Bank of Kansas City also was closed by regulators. The FDIC said. De Soto, Kan.-based Great American Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits. First Bank of Kansas City had $16 million in assets and $15 million in deposits as of June 30, the regulator said. Its failure is expected to cost the federal deposit-insurance fund $6 million. First Bank of Kansas City is the second Missouri-based bank to fail this year, the FDIC added.
Sioux City, Iowa-based Vantus Bank and Oak Forest, Ill.-based InBank also were closed. Vantus Bank had roughly $368 million in deposits as of Aug. 28, the FDIC said, and Springfield, Mo.-based Great Southern Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits. The failure of Vantus Bank will cost the deposit insurance fund $168 million. It's the first bank to fail in Iowa this year, according to the FDIC.
In Arizona, First State Bank in Flagstaff was closed and Sunwest Bank of Tustin, Calif., will assume all of its deposits, the FDIC said. As of July 24, First State had total assets of $105 million and total deposits of about $95 million, the FDIC said. The failure will cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $47 million, the FDIC said.
Disclosure NONE.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
ING Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund and ING International High Dividend Equity Income Fund Declare Monthly Distributions
ING Investments, LLC announced the monthly distributions on the common shares of two of its closed-end funds: ING Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund
(NYSE: IGD) and ING International High Dividend Equity Income Fund (NYSE:
IID) (each a "Fund" and collectively, the "Funds"). With respect to each
Fund, the distribution will be paid on September 15, 2009, to shareholders
of record on September 3, 2009. The ex-dividend date is September 1, 2009.
The distribution per share for each Fund is as follows:
Fund Distribution Per Share
---- ----------------------
ING Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity
Fund (NYSE: IGD) $0.156
ING International High Dividend Equity Income Fund
(NYSE: IID) $0.163
Each Fund intends to make regular monthly distributions based on the
past and projected performance of the Fund. The amount of monthly
distributions may vary, depending on a number of factors. As portfolio and
market conditions change, the rate of distributions on the common shares
may change. There can be no assurance that a Fund will be able to declare a
distribution in each period.
The tax treatment and characterization of a Fund's distributions may
vary significantly from time to time depending on the net investment income
of the Fund and whether the Fund has realized gains or losses from its
options strategy versus gain or loss realizations in the equity securities
in the portfolio. Each Fund's distributions will normally reflect past and
projected net investment income, and may include income from dividends and
interest, capital gains and/or a return of capital. The final tax
characteristics of the distributions cannot be determined with certainty
until after the end of the calendar year, and will be reported to
shareholders at that time.
IGD estimates that each distribution for the current fiscal year as of
July 31, 2009, will be comprised of approximately 24% ordinary income and
76% return of capital.
IID estimates that each distribution for the current fiscal year as of
July 31, 2009, will be comprised of approximately 15% ordinary income and
85% return of capital.
The portion of each Fund's monthly distributions estimated to come from
the Fund's option strategy, for tax purposes, may be treated as a
combination of long-term and short-term capital gains, and/or a return of
capital. The tax character of each Fund's option strategy is largely
determined by movements in, and gain and loss realizations in the
underlying equity portfolio.
Certain statements made on behalf of the Funds in this release are
forward- looking statements. The Funds actual future results may differ
significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements due
to numerous factors, including but not limited to a decline in value in
equity markets in general or the Funds investments specifically. Neither
the Funds nor ING undertake any responsibility to update publicly or revise
any forward-looking statement.
ING Investments, LLC, the manager of the Funds, is part of ING, a
global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments,
life insurance and retirement services to over 75 million private,
corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a
diverse workforce of about 125,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum
of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING
brand.
SHAREHOLDER INQUIRIES: ING Funds Shareholder Services at (800) 992-0180
Disclosure I am long IID and IGD shares.
(NYSE: IGD) and ING International High Dividend Equity Income Fund (NYSE:
IID) (each a "Fund" and collectively, the "Funds"). With respect to each
Fund, the distribution will be paid on September 15, 2009, to shareholders
of record on September 3, 2009. The ex-dividend date is September 1, 2009.
The distribution per share for each Fund is as follows:
Fund Distribution Per Share
---- ----------------------
ING Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity
Fund (NYSE: IGD) $0.156
ING International High Dividend Equity Income Fund
(NYSE: IID) $0.163
Each Fund intends to make regular monthly distributions based on the
past and projected performance of the Fund. The amount of monthly
distributions may vary, depending on a number of factors. As portfolio and
market conditions change, the rate of distributions on the common shares
may change. There can be no assurance that a Fund will be able to declare a
distribution in each period.
The tax treatment and characterization of a Fund's distributions may
vary significantly from time to time depending on the net investment income
of the Fund and whether the Fund has realized gains or losses from its
options strategy versus gain or loss realizations in the equity securities
in the portfolio. Each Fund's distributions will normally reflect past and
projected net investment income, and may include income from dividends and
interest, capital gains and/or a return of capital. The final tax
characteristics of the distributions cannot be determined with certainty
until after the end of the calendar year, and will be reported to
shareholders at that time.
IGD estimates that each distribution for the current fiscal year as of
July 31, 2009, will be comprised of approximately 24% ordinary income and
76% return of capital.
IID estimates that each distribution for the current fiscal year as of
July 31, 2009, will be comprised of approximately 15% ordinary income and
85% return of capital.
The portion of each Fund's monthly distributions estimated to come from
the Fund's option strategy, for tax purposes, may be treated as a
combination of long-term and short-term capital gains, and/or a return of
capital. The tax character of each Fund's option strategy is largely
determined by movements in, and gain and loss realizations in the
underlying equity portfolio.
Certain statements made on behalf of the Funds in this release are
forward- looking statements. The Funds actual future results may differ
significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements due
to numerous factors, including but not limited to a decline in value in
equity markets in general or the Funds investments specifically. Neither
the Funds nor ING undertake any responsibility to update publicly or revise
any forward-looking statement.
ING Investments, LLC, the manager of the Funds, is part of ING, a
global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments,
life insurance and retirement services to over 75 million private,
corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a
diverse workforce of about 125,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum
of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING
brand.
SHAREHOLDER INQUIRIES: ING Funds Shareholder Services at (800) 992-0180
Disclosure I am long IID and IGD shares.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Five U.S. bank closures bring 2009 total to 69
Five U.S. banks in Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio, New Jersey and Illinois were closed by regulators Friday, bringing the tally this year to 69 and making a $911.7 million dent in the federal deposit insurance fund as the credit crisis takes a persistent toll on the nation's financial institutions.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement that Altus, Okla.-based First State Bank of Altus was closed, and that Amarillo, Tex.-based Herring Bank will assume the failed bank's deposits.
First State Bank of Altus had $103.4 million in assets and $98.2 million in deposits as of June 19, the FDIC said. The bank is the first to fail on Oklahoma this year, and will cost the deposit insurance fund $25.2 million.
The FDIC also said Jupiter, Fla.-based Integrity Bank was shuttered, marking the fourth bank failure in that state this year. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Stonegate Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits.
Integrity Bank had $119 million in assets and $102 million in deposits as of June 5, the FDIC said, and its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $46 million.
West Chester, Ohio-based Peoples Community Bank was also closed by regulators, and its deposits have been assumed by Hamilton, Ohio-based First Financial Bank, National Association, the FDIC said.
Peoples Community Bank is the first to be closed in Ohio this year. It had $705.8 million in assets and $598.2 million in deposits as of March 31, and its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $129.5 million.
Elizabeth, N.J.-based First Bankamericano was also closed. Brick, N.J.-based Crown Bank will assume the failed bank's deposits, the FDIC said.
First Bankamericano, the second New Jersey bank to fail this year, had $166 million in assets and $157 million in deposits as of July 16, the FDIC said, and its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $15 million.
Rounding out the list of failed institutions on Friday was Harvey, Ill.-based Mutual Bank. Garland, Tex.-based United Central Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits, the FDIC said.
Mutual Bank, the 13th bank to fail in Illinois this year, had $1.6 billion in assets and $1.6 billion in deposits as of July 16. Its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $696 million, the FDIC said.
Disclosure None
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement that Altus, Okla.-based First State Bank of Altus was closed, and that Amarillo, Tex.-based Herring Bank will assume the failed bank's deposits.
First State Bank of Altus had $103.4 million in assets and $98.2 million in deposits as of June 19, the FDIC said. The bank is the first to fail on Oklahoma this year, and will cost the deposit insurance fund $25.2 million.
The FDIC also said Jupiter, Fla.-based Integrity Bank was shuttered, marking the fourth bank failure in that state this year. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Stonegate Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits.
Integrity Bank had $119 million in assets and $102 million in deposits as of June 5, the FDIC said, and its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $46 million.
West Chester, Ohio-based Peoples Community Bank was also closed by regulators, and its deposits have been assumed by Hamilton, Ohio-based First Financial Bank, National Association, the FDIC said.
Peoples Community Bank is the first to be closed in Ohio this year. It had $705.8 million in assets and $598.2 million in deposits as of March 31, and its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $129.5 million.
Elizabeth, N.J.-based First Bankamericano was also closed. Brick, N.J.-based Crown Bank will assume the failed bank's deposits, the FDIC said.
First Bankamericano, the second New Jersey bank to fail this year, had $166 million in assets and $157 million in deposits as of July 16, the FDIC said, and its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $15 million.
Rounding out the list of failed institutions on Friday was Harvey, Ill.-based Mutual Bank. Garland, Tex.-based United Central Bank has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits, the FDIC said.
Mutual Bank, the 13th bank to fail in Illinois this year, had $1.6 billion in assets and $1.6 billion in deposits as of July 16. Its failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $696 million, the FDIC said.
Disclosure None
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
First Trust Launches NEW Community Bank ETF!
The only exchange traded fund to focus on community banks started trading this morning on the NASDAQ. The First Trust Nasdaq ABA Community Bank Fund (QABA) from First Trust Advisors focuses on banks with a local focus, using a strict index criteria to exclude larger regional banks and banks that otherwise derive revenue from outside their home markets (eg credit card servicing).
The fund may appeal to investors looking to profit from the problems at larger banks, as smaller players are in a position to lend and gain market share. The index is down 25% so far this year, beating the 35% ytd decline of the SPDR KBW Regional Banking Fund (KBE).
First Trust specializes in such niche products, and is the 14th largest issuer of ETFS in the US.
“First Trust is pleased to introduce this new ETF that tracks NASDAQ® listed community banks,” said Robert Carey, CFA, and Chief Investment Officer of First Trust.
“There has been little distinction made between the stress-tested megabanks and the nearly 8,000 community banks throughout the country,” he continued. “Because these banks tend to practice more conservative banking strategies and have tended to stay away from subprime lending and exotic financial instruments, they have recently shown higher capital levels and healthier balance sheets as compared to larger financial institutions. Investors who want to take advantage of the financial sector as a market recovery takes hold may find community banks an attractive place to start,” Mr. Carey said.
The First Trust NASDAQ® ABA® Community Bank Index Fund will seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the fund’s fees and expenses) of the NASDAQ OMX® ABA® Community Bank IndexSM ABQI, a market capitalization weighted index.
About the NASDAQ OMX® ABA® Community Bank IndexSM
The NASDAQ OMX® ABA® Community Bank IndexSM (the “Index”) is jointly owned and was developed by NASDAQ OMX® and the American Bankers Association. The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted semi-annually. The Index is calculated and maintained by NASDAQ OMX®. For purposes of the Index, a “community bank” is considered to be all U.S. banks and thrifts or their holding companies listed on NASDAQ®, excluding the 50 largest U.S. banks by asset size. Also excluded are banks that have an international specialization and those banks that have a credit-card specialization, as screened by the American Bankers Association based on the most recent data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. A security must also have a market capitalization of at least $200 million and a three-month average daily dollar trading volume of at least $500 thousand and must meet certain operating history, solvency, and financial statement requirements. As of June 8, 2009, there were 96 securities that comprised the Index.
About First Trust Advisors L.P.
Based in Wheaton, Illinois, First Trust Advisors L.P., and its affiliate First Trust Portfolios L.P., are privately-held companies which provide a variety of investment services, including asset management, financial advisory services, and municipal and corporate investment banking, with collective assets under management or supervision of over $19 billion as of May 31, 2009 through closed-end funds, unit investment trusts, mutual funds, separate managed accounts and exchange-traded funds.
For more information, please visit www.ftportfolios.com.
Disclosure NONE
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Assurant Raises Quarterly Dividend from $.14 to $.15 per Common Share
Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialty insurance and
insurance-related products and services, today announced that its board of
directors declared a quarterly dividend of $.15 per share of common stock.
This represents a seven percent increase above the quarterly dividend of
$.14 per share, declared on Jan. 23, 2009. The dividend will be payable on
June 9, 2009 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May
26, 2009.
insurance-related products and services, today announced that its board of
directors declared a quarterly dividend of $.15 per share of common stock.
This represents a seven percent increase above the quarterly dividend of
$.14 per share, declared on Jan. 23, 2009. The dividend will be payable on
June 9, 2009 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May
26, 2009.
About Assurant
Assurant's businesses provide a unique variety of products and services that assure opportunity, security and peace of mind for our customers. We provide creditor-placed homeowners insurance; manufactured housing homeowners insurance; debt protection administration; credit insurance; warranties and extended services contracts; individual health and small employer group health insurance; group dental insurance; group disability insurance; group life insurance; and pre-funded funeral insurance. Assurant's strategy is to manage a select portfolio of specialty businesses that are leaders in their markets.
Assurant's U.S. headquarters office, located in New York's financial district, provides strategic management and key resources for its U.S. operating companies, including asset management, employee benefits, tax, accounting, legal and communications. Assurant also has offices in Syracuse, New York; West Des Moines, Iowa; and in Woodbury, Minnesota; which provide service support for its operating companies in such areas as information technology, financial and human resources systems management, and New York State policy administration.
Disclosure:None
Old Republic Announces Regular Second Quarter Dividend of 17 Cents
Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE: ORI) announced today that its Board of Directors approved the payment of the regular quarterly cash dividend of 17 cents per
common share. The dividend is payable on June 15, 2009 to shareholders of
record on June 5, 2009.
Old Republic traces its beginnings to 1923, although several acquired subsidiaries began operations much earlier. The Company is one of America's 50 largest shareholder-owned insurance businesses. Its subsidiaries market, underwrite, and provide risk management services for a wide variety of coverages, predominantly in the general (property and liability), mortgage guaranty, and title insurance fields. The Company is primarily a commercial lines underwriter serving the insurance needs of a large number of organizations, including many of America's leading industrial and financial services institutions.
Disclosure : None
common share. The dividend is payable on June 15, 2009 to shareholders of
record on June 5, 2009.
Old Republic traces its beginnings to 1923, although several acquired subsidiaries began operations much earlier. The Company is one of America's 50 largest shareholder-owned insurance businesses. Its subsidiaries market, underwrite, and provide risk management services for a wide variety of coverages, predominantly in the general (property and liability), mortgage guaranty, and title insurance fields. The Company is primarily a commercial lines underwriter serving the insurance needs of a large number of organizations, including many of America's leading industrial and financial services institutions.
Disclosure : None
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. Announces Pumped UP Quarterly Dividend
AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (AFSI - News) today announced that its Board of Directors approved an increased quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on July 15, 2009 to shareholders of record as of July 1, 2009.
AmTrust is a multinational property and casualty insurer specializing in coverage for small businesses. We offer workers’ compensation insurance, extended warranty coverage, specialty middle-market property and casualty insurance and a host of related products and services.
Disclosure None
AmTrust is a multinational property and casualty insurer specializing in coverage for small businesses. We offer workers’ compensation insurance, extended warranty coverage, specialty middle-market property and casualty insurance and a host of related products and services.
Disclosure None
Sunday, May 3, 2009
3 More banks gone with the wind, Expect Many more before the smoke clears
We have a hat trick tonight. Here are the links.
American West Bank, Layton, Utah
Citizens Community Bank, Ridgewood, New Jersey
Silverton Bank N.A., Atlanta, Georgia
A couple things worth noting here.
First, there was no buyer found for American West Bank. That’s the second bank to fail in Utah for which no buyer emerged. (Update: My Bad. This bank was acquired by another institution. In too much of a hurry this evening).
Silverton Bank is big. It operates as a bankers bank, in other words it provides back office support, clearing services, credit card processing and other services to smaller community banks in the Southeast. It also originated loans and sold them off participations to those same banks. Many of these banks are also investors in Silverton.
From the WSJ:
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated the Atlanta bank’s failure would cost its deposit insurance fund $1.3 billion. Silverton’s condition was so poor that the FDIC couldn’t find a buyer.
With $4.1 billion in assets, Silverton is the fifth-largest bank to fail since the financial crisis intensified in 2008. The bank provides services to one of every five banks in the country, and its customers, depositors and investors are all banks. It didn’t take deposits from the general public or make loans to consumers.
The FDIC said loan losses caused Silverton’s failure, as charge-offs for bad loans went from $4 million in 2007 to $69 million in 2008.
Walt Moeling, Silverton’s counsel and an attorney with Bryan Cave LLP in Atlanta, said problems tie back to Silverton’s exposure to the Southeast and Georgia, not its recent expansion across the country into many business lines: “If their core business had stayed strong they wouldn’t have failed.”
Some Georgia bankers argued to FDIC officials that the bank was “too big to fail” because its collapse could take down at least eight to 12 others.
Federal regulators were “not sympathetic” to the argument that a Silverton failure had to be averted, Mr. Moeling said. “The argument tends to be that ‘You guys got yourself into this mess, don’t look for us to come fix it. Don’t look for us to bail you out, because you are not Citigroup.’”
Banks that invested in Silverton will likely incur a loss, FDIC officials said. But regulators played down the possibility that the failure would cause major problems for shareholder banks. The typical bank’s Silverton exposure is “very small” when compared with its overall investment portfolio, said Pam Farwig, associate director of the FDIC’s division of resolutions and receivership.
Banks also stand to lose money on loan participations arranged by Silverton that allowed smaller banks to team up on large multimillion-dollar hotel and real-estate deals, many backed by poor-performing residential real estate. The FDIC will attempt to sell those packages for cents on the dollar, Mr. Moeling said. Also, banks with holding company loans from Silverton may have to scramble to replenish these funds, said Christopher Marinac of FIG Partners in Atlanta.
Federal regulators worried about how to handle the bank’s collapse because Silverton is so interconnected in the Southeast. Chartered in 1984, Silverton used to be known as the Bankers Bank until last year.
Silverton may be the canary in the coal mine. It’s loan portfolio is going to be mirrored at a number of banks so it’s reasonable to assume that there will be follow-on failures. It appears as if its problems may be closely tied to poor performing commercial real estate. This is the asset class that’s going to cause the next wave of failures and it will most likely be a tsunami.
Disclosure None
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
MetLife (MET) says NO THANKS To Treasury's Capital Purchase Program
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) issued the following statement today in response to inquiries regarding its potential participation in the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program:
MetLife, which has been a federally chartered bank holding company since launching MetLife Bank, N.A. in 2001, has elected not to participate in the program.
"MetLife is well positioned, with approximately $5 billion in excess capital, a strong balance sheet and leading market positions in our core group and individual insurance businesses, where our revenues continue to be healthy," said C. Robert Henrikson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of MetLife, Inc. "MetLife has already taken actions to reinforce its strong financial position, including raising capital in the marketplace. We have therefore decided not to participate in the Program."
"Although a number of economic challenges remain, MetLife is well positioned to continue meeting the needs of our clients," added Henrikson. "We repositioned our investment portfolio over a year ago for the current recession; completed a successful $2.3 billion common stock offering last October; and successfully remarketed over $1 billion in debt earlier this year. We are confident that we have the finicial strength to continue to succeed now and over the long-term."
MetLife also confirmed today that, as a federally chartered bank holding company with more than $100 billion in total assets, the company is one of the top 19 U.S. banking organizations participating in the Treasury's capital planning exercise being conducted under the department's Capital Assistance Program. MetLife is working closely with the Federal Reserve on this exercise.
I do not own metlife stock.
MetLife, which has been a federally chartered bank holding company since launching MetLife Bank, N.A. in 2001, has elected not to participate in the program.
"MetLife is well positioned, with approximately $5 billion in excess capital, a strong balance sheet and leading market positions in our core group and individual insurance businesses, where our revenues continue to be healthy," said C. Robert Henrikson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of MetLife, Inc. "MetLife has already taken actions to reinforce its strong financial position, including raising capital in the marketplace. We have therefore decided not to participate in the Program."
"Although a number of economic challenges remain, MetLife is well positioned to continue meeting the needs of our clients," added Henrikson. "We repositioned our investment portfolio over a year ago for the current recession; completed a successful $2.3 billion common stock offering last October; and successfully remarketed over $1 billion in debt earlier this year. We are confident that we have the finicial strength to continue to succeed now and over the long-term."
MetLife also confirmed today that, as a federally chartered bank holding company with more than $100 billion in total assets, the company is one of the top 19 U.S. banking organizations participating in the Treasury's capital planning exercise being conducted under the department's Capital Assistance Program. MetLife is working closely with the Federal Reserve on this exercise.
I do not own metlife stock.
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