The insurer said Executive Vice President Eric Steigerwalt will lead the new company. He previously ran the domestic retail business and was named in November as interim head of U.S. operations, which added responsibility for segments including group coverage and workplace benefits.
Under a prior management structure, all operations in the Americas were overseen by William Wheeler, the insurer’s former chief financial officer. Wheeler departed last year and became president of Athene Holding Ltd., the insurer with ties to Apollo Global Management LLC.
Maria Morris, executive vice president and head of global employee benefits, was named interim head of the remaining parts of MetLife’s U.S. businesses, according to John Calagna, a spokesman for the company. Oscar Schmidt will continue to lead Latin American operations.
MetLife is among four non-bank companies that were named SIFIs by the Financial Stability Oversight Council. That panel was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law and charged with monitoring potential threats to the financial system after the near collapse in 2008 of companies including insurer American International Group Inc., which required a U.S. bailout.
GE, AIG
GE has been divesting finance operations and has said it will apply to drop its tag as a SIFI. Prudential Financial Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer, in 2013 opted against filing a lawsuit to overturn its SIFI status.
AIG, also a SIFI, has been facing pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to break up into three separate businesses - -- one offering property-casualty coverage, another selling life insurance and a third backing mortgages. Icahn has said the risk tag is intended to be a tax on size and AIG’s businesses would be worth more to shareholders if they’re not part of a systemically important company.