MetLife Inc. Executive Vice President and General Counsel Ricardo Anzaldua intends to retire at the end of 2017, according to an internal memo obtained by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Anzaldua's last day as general counsel will be June 30, but he will stay on to serve as a special legal adviser to MetLife Chairman, President and CEO Steven Kandarian.

Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel Stephen Gauster will be the interim general counsel as the company looks for Anzaldua's replacement.

In the internal memo, Kandarian noted Anzaldua's role in MetLife's strategy to challenge its designation as a systemically important financial institution.

In early May, an appeals court granted MetLife's request to delay a decision related to its former systemic risk designation. In 2016, the appeals court heard arguments on the case after former President Barack Obama's administration appealed a lower court's decision to rescind MetLife's designation.

Kandarian said in the memo that Anzaldua also had a role in MetLife's plan to separate a large part of its U.S. retail business, which is now called Brighthouse Financial.