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MetLife’s Dropped Designation Could Boost CRE Lending
MetLife, the largest life insurance company in the United States, has gotten rid of its “systematically important financial institution” (SIFI) designation, with help from the U.S. District Court. This could help the company increase commercial real estate lending activities, now that government-imposed capital requirements are no longer an issue, according to Forbes commercial real estate contributor Ely Razin.
The SIFI designation is applied by Dodd-Frank’s Financial Stability Oversight Council to non-bank companies deemed “too large to fail.” The designation means companies are required to maintain higher levels of capital reserves and liquidity.
MetLife convinced the court it was not a SIFI. As a result, the insurance company could offer more competitive lending rates. It could also deploy more capital in other commercial real estate areas, Razin said.
