METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT REACHES $2.9 BILLION OF GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE PRODUCTION FOR 2017

METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT REACHES $2.9 BILLION OF GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE PRODUCTION FOR 2017

WHIPPANY, N.J., April 02, 2018

MetLife Investment Management (“MIM”), MetLife, Inc.’s (NYSE: MET) institutional asset management platform, announced today that it originated $2.9 billion in global agricultural loans in 2017. The strong investment activity pushed MIM’s total agricultural mortgage loans managed to a record level of more than $15.3 billion, ranking the firm as the largest non-government sponsored, agricultural mortgage lender in the United States¹.

“Last year our agricultural finance group continued its success in expanding our portfolio of high quality agricultural loans,” said Robert Merck, senior managing director and global head of real estate and agriculture at MetLife Investment Management. “2017 presented the industry with a few challenges, including natural disasters and relatively low commodity prices. Despite these hurdles, our platform continues to be an important and reliable source of agricultural credit to rural America and key emerging markets internationally.”

MIM originated $2.9 billion in global agricultural loans across more than 400 transactions, contributing to a 4.7% year-over-year increase in agricultural mortgage loans managed.   

“I am very proud of what our team accomplished last year,” said Barry Bogseth, managing director and head of MIM’s agricultural finance group. “In 2018, I expect to continue our success in the sector, strengthening the strong local relationships we’ve created with clients during our 100-plus years of agricultural lending.”

Highlights of MIM’s agricultural lending transactions for 2017 include:

Danzer Forestland, Inc.

• $8.5 million interest-only financing fixed for 15 years
• Secured by 30,000 acres of hardwood forestland in New York and Indiana
• Borrower is a subsidiary of the largest veneer manufacturer in the world, Austria-based Danzer Holding AG

Tim Neufeld and Redsand Farms, LLC

• $10.3 million combined term and revolving line–of-credit facility
• Secured by 11,000 acres of farmland in Gaines County, Texas, the leading cotton-producing county in the state
• Security is used to grow cotton and is managed by an experienced farming family

Kona Hills, LLC

• $19 million multi-disbursement, revolving line-of-credit facility with a 10-year term
• Secured by 1,893 acres of prime coffee-growing land within the Kona Coffee Belt of Hawaii’s “Big Island”
• The land will be developed into a Kona coffee plantation, managed by an experienced investment and operations team

MetLife Investment Management oversees an agricultural portfolio consisting primarily of mortgages for farms, ranches, food production, agribusiness, and timberland. The firm has provided agricultural financing solutions since 1917 and is the largest non-government sponsored, agricultural mortgage lender in the United States. MIM’s agricultural finance group has a lending presence in most major agricultural production areas throughout the United States and South America.

 

About MetLife Investment Management

MetLife Investment Management (“MIM”), MetLife, Inc.’s institutional asset management platform, provides institutional investors including corporate and government pension plans, insurance companies and other financial institutions with long-term public and private investment and financing solutions. With operations in the Americas, Asia and the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) regions, MetLife Investment Management manages assets for third-party institutional investors, separate accounts and MetLife, Inc.’s general account. MetLife Investment Management leverages a disciplined credit research and underwriting process to provide institutional investors with asset origination and acquisition opportunities and proprietary risk management analytics across traditional fixed income strategies, commercial real estate debt and equity investing, agricultural financing and private placements, among others. For more information, visit www.metlife.com/investments.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Disclosures

This news release may contain or incorporate by reference information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give expectations or forecasts of future events. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “will be,” “will not,” and other words and terms of similar meaning, or are tied to future periods, in connection with a discussion of future financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, prospective services or products, future performance or results of current and anticipated services or products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, trends in operations and financial results.

Any or all forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining the actual future results of MetLife, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. These statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. They involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors that might cause such differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in MetLife, Inc.’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed by MetLife, Inc. with the SEC after the date of the Annual Report under the captions “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” and other filings MetLife, Inc. makes with the SEC. MetLife, Inc. does not undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement if we later become aware that such statement is not likely to be achieved. Please consult any further disclosures MetLife, Inc. makes on related subjects in reports to the SEC.

Additional Disclosures for Non GAAP Information

Explanatory Note on Non-GAAP Financial Information:

Mortgage Loans on a Combined Managed Assets Basis and Real Estate Equity on a Combined Managed Assets Basis (as defined below) are financial measures based on methodologies other than accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). MetLife believes the use of Mortgage Loans on a Combined Managed Assets Basis and Real Estate Equity on a Combined Managed Assets Basis enhances the understanding of the depth and breadth of its investment management services on behalf of its general account investment portfolio and unaffiliated/third party clients. “Mortgage Loans on a Combined Managed Assets Basis and Real Estate Equity on a Combined Managed Assets Basis” include at estimated fair value: (i) actively-managed general account mortgage loan and real estate and real estate joint venture assets and (ii) non-proprietary mortgage loan and real estate equity assets managed on behalf of unaffiliated/third party clients. General account mortgage loans and certain real estate investments have been adjusted from carrying value (“Carrying Value”) to estimated fair value. Classification of mortgage loans and real estate equity by sector is based on the nature and characteristics of the underlying investments which can vary from how they are classified under GAAP (“Managed Assets”). Non-proprietary mortgage loans and real estate equity managed on behalf of unaffiliated/third party clients are stated at estimated fair value, but are excluded from MetLife, Inc.’s consolidated financial statements.

Mortgage Loans on a Combined Managed Assets Basis and Real Estate Equity on a Combined Managed Assets Basis are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be viewed as substitutes for Mortgage Loans and Real Estate and Real Estate Joint Ventures, the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations of Mortgage Loans and Real Estate and Real Estate Joint Ventures to Mortgage Loans on a Combined Managed Assets Basis and Real Estate Equity on a Combined Managed Assets Basis are set forth in the table below.