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| MetLife Finance contributed to the company’s record performance by managing risk, leveraging capital, providing strong accounting and controls, and working with the lines of business as well as Investments to create value. It was active in the investment community too, building shareholder confidence and strengthening our ratings as MetLife demonstrated its capital flexibility. Finance continued to enhance its processes, creating a more efficient, state-of-the-art function as well. |
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| Actuarial Acumen—Rigorous Risk Management |
| Throughout last year, Finance implemented a global corporate
oversight function for key actuarial processes such as pricing, product development, asset-liability management and reinsurance. As a result, the company is better positioned to manage risk, price products, and allocate reserves more effectively, contributing to an already-strong underwriting and risk management discipline. |
As part of its focus on risk management, Finance expanded its hedging strategies, including the use of innovative capital
market structures. |
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| Expense Discipline |
| In 2006, MetLife was focused on its spending, investing in targeted areas like technology. With an eye on expense discipline, Finance conducted a detailed review of its expense reporting processes to increase their effectiveness and assure that business partners receive vital decision-making information even sooner. As a result, a new resource, the Expense Management Center, was formed and rolled out to Individual and Institutional Businesses. |
| Supporting every associate’s role in managing costs, Finance provided cost-saving tips to associates and managers throughout the year. |
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| Closing in on the Financial Close Process |
| Finance continued to strengthen its accounting and control processes. This included accelerating by several days the close process, allowing for even greater transparency of information and faster decision
making. In addition, progress was made in standardizing the general ledgers of several international entities. |
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| Advisors to the Lines of Business |
| The Business Finance functions continued to drive growth by serving as advisors to the lines of business on various matters, such as entering new markets, product development and pricing, agency profitability, reporting and strategic planning. |
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| Developing People |
| On the associate front, Finance continued to invest in associate development, expanding its Associate Rotation Program in 2006 and adding one international rotation in Australia. This 12-month program offers associates an opportunity to experience various areas within Finance, from Financial Operations to M&A, and gain exposure to senior leaders across the organization on high-level projects. |
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| Treasury Workstation is Here! |
Treasury manages the company’s cash resources. It is a big responsibility given that over $1 billion of cash must be managed each day. The group makes sure that MetLife has the right liquidity to manage its investments and deliver on its benefits and guarantees.
In 2006, Treasury completed a multi-year project to bolster cash management capabilities. Now complete, the Treasury Workstation (TWS) offers automation of our daily cash-position processing and incorporates cash forecasts and wire processing onto an enterprise platform. Hundreds of associates from Finance and the enterprise contributed to this effort. Today, MetLife is using TWS to leverage our capital more efficiently and for greater returns. |
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| "Are you a good company to own? That’s what analysts and shareholders want to know. We communicate MetLife’s story of strong performance and long-term value creation every day. It is a huge team effort that involves not only the IR team, but associates across Finance as we show the proof in the numbers." |
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| –Jorge Ramirez,
Investor Relations |
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