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More reserving issues at MetLife; commercial P&C rates up for 1st time in years

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More reserving issues at MetLife; commercial P&C rates up for 1st time in years

The SEC is investigating MetLife Inc. over the calculation of certain reserves related to variable annuity guarantees assumed from a former operating joint venture in Japan. The company disclosed that it had found a material weakness in its internal controls over financial reporting related to over-reserving for the variable annuity guarantees.

The insurer also revised its full-year 2017 net income figures. The revision related to a release of reinsurance reserves for Japanese variable annuities following an internal review of reserving practices for this block of business reported in the MetLife Holdings segment.

Unrelated to reserving issues, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Galvin said his office discovered hundreds of retirees owed pension payments by MetLife.

For the first time in 13 quarters, commercial property and casualty insurance rates inched upward, rising by 0.3% across all-sized accounts in the fourth quarter of 2017. By comparison, rates declined 1.3% in the third quarter of that year, the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers noted.

Athene Holding Ltd. is one of several companies that have made binding bids for Italy-based Generali's German life insurance portfolio, which may be worth about $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported.

Karen White, a senior executive at Oracle, was named CEO of catastrophe modeling company RMS, according to Artemis. She replaces Hemant Shah, who co-founded the company in 1989.

Click here to ready a summary of earnings reported March 1 by select insurance companies covered by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Featured news

AbbVie, Biogen shelve MS drug; Trump threatens litigation for opioid drugmakers: AbbVie Inc. and Biogen Inc. are voluntarily withdrawing Zinbryta, or daclizumab, intended to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis. The withdrawal comes after reports of encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, and meningoencephalitis, inflammation of brain tissue and spinal cord, were associated with the drug.

Financial news in other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: Indian state banks to consolidate overseas ops; CBA unit float moves forward

Europe: LSE posts profit rise; offers made for Generali assets; Pru names new risk chief

Middle East & Africa: Barclays Africa rebrands; Fitch lowers Bahrain; BNY Mellon eyes Riyadh office

Latin America: Mexico lower house passes fintech law; Grupo Security Q4'17 profit up 38.9%

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 1.48% to 30,583.45, and the Nikkei 225 fell 2.50% to 21,181.64.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.93% to 7,108.93, and the Euronext 100 was down 1.36% to 1,004.59.

On the macro front

The consumer sentiment report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.