[November 17, 2014]

Fitch Affirms and Withdraws Various MetLife Ratings; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of MetLife Insurance Company USA (MICUSA - formerly MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut), MetLife Institutional Funding II and MetLife Short Term Funding LLC. Fitch has also withdrawn the ratings of MetLife Investors Insurance Company (MLIMO) and MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company (MLIUSA) due to a reorganization among statutory entities within MetLife, Inc. (MetLife).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Today's rating actions follow the merger of MLIMO, MLIUSA and Exeter Reassurance Company, Ltd. (Exeter), a former captive reinsurer, into MICUSA, and the change of MICUSA's domicile from Connecticut to Delaware. These changes became effective after 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time Nov. 14, 2014. As a result of the merger, the surviving entity is MICUSA, and MLIMO, MLIUSA and Exeter no longer exist as separate statutory entities, necessitating the withdrawal of Fitch's ratings on MLIMO and MLIUSA. Exeter was not rated by Fitch.

Fitch does not view the reorganization as having a material effect on the overall financial strength of the MetLife enterprise or its operating subsidiaries. However, Fitch does acknowledge an increased product diversification within MICUSA as a result of the reorganization, as well as the greater transparency afforded by the inclusion of the majority of Exeter's operations within MetLife's U.S. statutory entities.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Key rating drivers that could lead to an upgrade of MetLife's ratings include NAIC risk-based capital ratio above 450%, financial leverage below 25%, and GAAP fixed charge coverage ratio above 9x.

Key rating drivers that could lead to a downgrade of MetLife's ratings include NAIC risk-based capital ratio below 350%, financial leverage above 30%, and GAAP fixed charge coverage ratio below 5x.

Fitch affirm the following rating with a Stable Outlook:

MetLife Insurance Company USA (formerly MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut)

--IFS at 'AA-'.

Fitch affirms the following ratings:

MetLife Institutional Funding II

--Medium-term note program at 'AA-'.

MetLife Short Term Funding LLC

--Commercial paper program rated 'F1+'.

Fitch withdraws the following ratings:

MetLife Investors Insurance Company

MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company

--IFS at 'AA-'.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'Insurance Rating Methodology' (September 2014).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Insurance Rating Methodology

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=756650

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=925315

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

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