A group of top U.S. regulators began a re-evaluation of the process for labeling big financial companies “systemically important,” a distinction which draws companies in for stricter oversight, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Staff of the Financial Stability Oversight Council met on Wednesday with groups representing the insurance and asset-management industries, think tanks, and public-interest watchdogs to discuss possible changes to the process, the Treasury Department said. The council is chaired by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and includes representatives from the Federal Reserve and other agencies. The meeting came as the oversight council deliberates on whether to bring MetLife Inc. into the “systemic” club, which puts it in a category of banks and other large financial firms that get tougher scrutiny from the Federal Reserve. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law created the council to watch over the financial system and gave it the power to identify big firms whose failure could threaten economic stability. Three other firms have already been brought under the Fed’s thumb, including American International Group Inc., Prudential Financial Inc. and General Electric Co. unit GE Capital.
