MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management, serving approximately 100 million customers and more than 90 of the top one hundred FORTUNE 500® companies. MetLife has operations in 44 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Founded in 1868, MetLife continues to build upon its long history of serving our customers by launching new and innovative products, expanding its role as a leader, and continuing to provide high quality financial solutions that are backed by a trusted, well-recognized brand name and strong financial performance.

International growth is critical to our company’s future success.

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The following is an excerpt from the letter addressed to President Trump.

“Americans benefit from trade and investment with Canada and Mexico in many ways. U.S. trade with these two countries supports 14 million American jobs, and the daily volume of trade between the United States and our two North American neighbors tops $3.5 billion. In addition, the significant cross-investment among the three partners supports many additional good paying jobs across closely integrated supply chains. Much of this commerce depends on NAFTA, and the forthcoming negotiations with Canada and Mexico should be conducted in a manner that recognizes our shared values as neighbors and that does not put these millions of American jobs at risk. With your support, we believe this goal is eminently achievable.”

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The US Federal Reserve has made a tentative step toward imposing tougher capital requirements on insurers, inviting comment on a proposal for a two-tier regime designed to shield the financial system from another Lehman-like shock.

Under the proposal, endorsed by the Fed’s board on Friday afternoon, American International Group and Prudential Financial, the huge insurance conglomerate, would face more stringent rules, while the dozen insurance firms under supervision by the Fed due to their banking activities – the likes of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance and Nationwide Mutual Insurance – would be subject to lighter capital requirements linked to existing state-based standards, writes Ben McLannahan in New York.

The giant insurer MetLife said on Tuesday that it was exploring spinning off its retail life and annuity business in the United States because of financial pressures it is facing under regulations put in place in the wake of the financial crisis.

The decision was made two years after the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a group created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulatory legislation, named MetLife a systemically important nonbank financial institution, or SiFi. That designation carries requirements to set aside more capital as a cushion against a substantial decline in the nation’s financial markets as occurred in 2008, potentially limiting its earnings.

MetLife is considering several options, including an initial public offering to create a company that would, presumably, be better able to compete with smaller life insurance and annuity providers who are not subject to the same regulatory restrictions.

MetLife is the largest life insurance company in the United States, with $880 billion in assets, including $240 billion of retail assets that would be part of the new company.

American International Group, Prudential Financial and General Electric Capital Corporation, the financing arm of General Electric, have also received the designation, which was largely bestowed on companies deemed so large that their failure would damage the American economy.

In a statement on Tuesday, Steven A. Kandarian, MetLife’s chairman, president and chief executive, said the risk of increased capital requirements contributed to the decision to explore breaking up the business, although exact plans have not been completed.

“An independent company would benefit from greater focus, more flexibility in products and operations, and a reduced capital and compliance burden,” he said.