The U.S. government and MetLife Inc announced yesterday that they would jointly seek to dismiss an appeal over whether the insurance company should face stricter oversight as a key part of the financial system. MetLife and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a top federal panel of financial regulators, filed a joint motion to dismiss an earlier FSOC appeal, the company announced in a statement. Backers of tougher rules established after the 2007-2009 financial crisis insist allowing regulators to identify specific firms for stricter scrutiny as key cogs of the financial system is a critical tool. But conservative critics argued the FSOC applied the power in an inconsistent and opaque fashion. In November, the Treasury Department recommended the FSOC shift away from singling out specific companies, and instead focus on broader risks facing the financial system.
