NEW YORK — In the first legal challenge to a U.S. body that arose from the financial crisis, MetLife is challenging its designation by regulators as a potential threat to the financial system.
MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. insurance company by assets, announced Tuesday that it is taking the government to court to appeal its assessment by the Financial Stability Oversight Council as “systemically important.” That means regulators believe MetLife is so big and entwined with the financial system that it could threaten the economy if it collapsed.
The oversight council, a group of top federal regulators created by the 2010 Wall Street overhaul law to monitor the financial system, decided last month to label MetLife as systemically important. The designation brings stricter government oversight and, MetLife says, exorbitant costs.
MetLife, which has a market capitalization of about $57 billion, said the designation will increase costs for consumers. It serves approximately 100 million customers.
