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MetLife Originates Over $1.6 Billion in Agricultural Mortgages

^{Published on 2011-11-08 19:43:14 - Market Wire}
 

NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced today that it has originated over $1.6 billion in agricultural mortgages in the first nine months of 2011. MetLife, through its agricultural investments unit, provides mortgage loans on farms, ranches, timberland and agribusiness facilities throughout North America.

"MetLife has a deep understanding and knowledge of our industry and worked seamlessly with our banking group to provide us with an optimal structure of long and medium-term solutions"

aMetLife continues to be very active in the agricultural lending industry,a said Robert Merck, senior managing director and head of agricultural investments for MetLife. aOur mortgage production to date demonstrates our expertise in providing borrowers with a reliable and trusted source of financing for the long-term growth and success of their business. At the same time, with the transactions weave completed this year, we have continued to further strengthen our high-quality portfolio of agricultural mortgages.a

Some of MetLifeas Agricultural Investments unitas recent transactions include:

Aurora Cooperative a" Aurora, Nebraska

• $75 million of a $90 million senior secured loan
• Secured by fixed assets principally comprised of grain handling and storage facilities
• Aurora Co-Op is a grain merchandiser and specializes in handling and storage, as well as a merchandiser and distributor of crop chemicals, fertilizers and energy products

FIA Timber Partners, L.P. - Continental U.S.

• $80 million senior secured, 5.25 year fixed rate loan
• Secured by timberland located across the southern, southeastern, and northwestern United States
• Stands are primarily well distributed age classifications of Southern Pine and Douglas Fir
• Assets managed by Forest Investment Associates of Atlanta, GA

Central States Enterprises, LLC a" Heathrow, FL

• $56 million first mortgage, 10 year fixed rate loan
• Secured by grain storage and handling facilities in Northeast Indiana
• Central States Enterprises provides grain and feed handling, merchandising and transportation logistics services

Woolf Enterprises - Fresno & Madera Counties, CA

• Three senior secured fixed rate loans with a combined total of $43 million
• Secured by irrigated field crop land, almonds, pistachios and wine grapes in the western San Joaquin Valley of California
• Woolf Enterprises is a diversified, vertically integrated, multi-generational family business

aMetLife has a deep understanding and knowledge of our industry and worked seamlessly with our banking group to provide us with an optimal structure of long and medium-term solutions,a said Aurora Cooperative CFO Robert Brown. aI have worked with numerous financial institutions in my more than 30-year CFO career, and MetLifeas industry expertise was extremely valuable in supporting our financing needs.a

Through its agricultural investments department, MetLife oversees a $13 billion agricultural portfolio, which consists of farm and ranch, food and agribusiness and timberland mortgages. MetLife has provided agricultural financing solutions since 1917 and is one of the largest agriculture mortgage lenders in North America. MetLife has agricultural investments offices in Fresno, Calif., Overland Park, Kan., West Des Moines, Iowa, and Bloomington, Ill., as well as a National Timber Office in Memphis, Tenn. For more information, visit [ www.metlife.com/ag ].

MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit [ www.metlife.com ].

This press 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 aanticipate,a aestimate,a aexpect,a aproject,a aintend,a aplan,a abelievea and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or 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.as most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the aAnnual Reporta) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the aSECa) and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed by MetLife, Inc. with the SEC after the date of the Annual Report under the captions aNote Regarding Forward-Looking Statementsa and aRisk Factorsa, MetLife, Inc.as Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 1, 2011 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.