Prudential Financial Inc. is laying the groundwork to escape the government’s label that it’s too big to fail, a move that would dramatically reduce federal oversight of the largest U.S. life insurer, Bloomberg News reported today. Prudential is preparing to push a federal watchdog — the Financial Stability Oversight Council — to remove it from a list of nonbanks that regulators concluded would threaten the financial system if they collapsed. With business-friendly officials appointed by President Donald Trump taking over FSOC, the Newark, New Jersey-based company sees an opening, said the people, who asked not to be named because a final decision hasn’t been made. And the Treasury Department is expected to release a report as soon as next month criticizing how the government has gone about designating companies such as Prudential, which could provide momentum for the insurer to get out.
