Friday May 15, 07:17 PM
US insurer Ameriprise rejects Treasury bailout offer
NEW YORK (AFP) - US insurer Ameriprise Financial said Friday that it would not accept Treasury bailout funding, explaining its capital position was "more than adequate" in the face of recession.
Ameriprise was among the six major US insurers the Treasury Department announced late Thursday as winning preliminary approval for the rescue funds, part of the 700-billion-dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
"While we appreciate Treasury's approval of our application, we have elected not to accept funding," Jim Cracchiolo, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
"We have carefully evaluated our current position and expectations for the future, and we are confident that our current capital position and access to potential additional funding sources are more than adequate."
Cracchiolo said his company had more than one billion dollars in excess capital.
In addition to Ameriprise, the Treasury identified Prudential, Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC - news) , Allstate (NYSE: ALL - news) , Hartford Financial (NYSE: HIG - news) and Principal Financial as eligible for the rescue funds from the Capital Purchase Program, part of the TARP program that was used for banks.
A Treasury spokesman said the preliminary approval was granted because of their bank holding company status and since they had applied for the funds by the November 18, 2008 deadline.
The spokesman told AFP that the six were among hundreds of financial institutions "that will be reviewed and funded as appropriate on a rolling basis."
Ameriprise was the only insurer to date to reject the government offer. It did not say how much public money it had been offered as the Treasury extended its rescue to the insurance sector to try to stabilize the financial system struggling with a prolonged recession and global credit crisis.
Hartford Financial said in a separate statement late Thursday that it had been approved for up to 3.4 billion dollars.
Lincoln Financial announced Friday it won approval for 2.5 billion dollars in rescue funds.
Prudential Financial and Allstate said they were reviewing their Treasury offers Friday but did not disclose the dollar amounts.
Principal Financial did not issue a statement and was not immediately available for comment.
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