Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and MetLife Agree to Continue Individual Annuity Joint Venture in Japan

Business Wire, May 6, 2005

NEW YORK & TOKYO -- Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. (MSI) President Hiroyuki Uemura, MetLife, Inc. (MetLife) International President William J. Toppeta and CitiInsurance International Holdings Inc. (CitiInsurance) President Michael B.G. Froman are pleased to announce that they have concluded a letter of intent to continue the business of Mitsui Sumitomo CitiInsurance Life Insurance Co., Ltd., the individual annuity joint venture between MSI and CitiInsurance founded in 2001. MetLife, through its anticipated acquisition of substantially all of Citigroup Inc.'s international insurance businesses, will become the new joint venture partner. The parties' agreement is subject to the closing of this acquisition and the receipt of all necessary governmental approvals.

The letter of intent places the highest priority on continuation of the current business and business model of the JV company and the strong parent support the company enjoys, which have been key contributors to making it a highly successful model of cooperation between Japanese and American financial institutions.

Under the terms of the agreement:

--The JV company will remain 51% owned by MSI and 49% owned by MetLife, through its acquisition of CitiInsurance, which will become a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of MetLife.

--The JV company will continue to provide variable and fixed annuities through financial institutions as distribution agents.

--The JV company will benefit from the expertise and close support of both MSI and MetLife, including in such areas as product development, system development, reinsurance, asset management and risk management.

MetLife, founded in 1868, is the largest life insurance company in the U.S., with over $2.8 trillion of life insurance in force. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to individual and institutional customers. The MetLife companies serve individuals in approximately 13 million households in the U.S. and provide benefits to 37 million employees and family members through their plan sponsors. MetLife also serves 88 of the top 100 FORTUNE(R) 500 companies in the U.S. Outside the U.S., the MetLife companies serve approximately 9 million customers through direct insurance operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and Uruguay.

Although this is the first time MetLife is entering the Japanese insurance market, MetLife has a proven track record and expertise in the annuities business, and has already been very successful in other markets in the region, including South Korea, China and Taiwan. For more information about MetLife, please visit the company's Web site at www.metlife.com.

The individual annuity business in Japan has shown remarkable growth over the past few years and is expected to remain a growing market for the foreseeable future. The efforts of the JV company to secure a leading position in this market, which have resulted in its rapid and remarkable growth to become Japan's #2 distributor of annuities, will now be enhanced by the efforts of MetLife, which has a proven track record and expertise in the annuities business in the U.S.

MSI positions the life insurance business, including the annuity business conducted by the JV company, as one of the key business lines critical to satisfaction of the MSI Group's long-term management vision entitled "Challenge 10," with a target of fiscal 2010. MSI believes that its partnering with MetLife will lead the JV company to be a significant contributor to the satisfaction of MSI's Challenge 10 Goal.

It is expected that completion of MetLife's acquisition of substantially all of Citigroup Inc.'s insurance businesses will occur in the summer of 2005, but the parties have already commenced various preparations to obtain approval by the relevant authorities and secure a smooth integration and transition.

Mitsui Sumitomo CitiInsurance Life Insurance Co., Ltd

Company Profile

Company Name                            Mitsui Sumitomo CitiInsurance
                                         Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Co-Presidents/Chief Executive Officers  Takeshi Kurioka and Ichiro
                                         Miyake
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Address                                 Kishimoto-Building 4F 2-1,
                                         Marunouchi 2Chome Chiyoda-ku,
                                         Tokyo, 105-0005, Japan
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Capital Fund & Capital Reserve          Total 40,295 million yen
                                        (Capital Fund: 28,310 million
                                         yen, Capital Reserve: 11,985
                                         million yen)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Ratio                        Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co.,
                                         Ltd. -51%
                                        CitiInsurance International
                                         Holdings Inc. - 49%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Assets (as of the end of March    935,288 million yen
 2005)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total amount of in-force policies       885,689 million yen
(as of the end of March, 2005)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents of business                    Sales of Individual Annuity
                                         Products
----------------------------------------------------------------------

MetLife, Inc.

Company Profile


Company Name                              MetLife, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foundation                                1868
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chairman and CEO                          Robert H. Benmosche
----------------------------------------------------------------------
President, International                  William J. Toppeta
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Address                                   200 Park Avenue, New York,
                                           NY 10166, USA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Assets (as of the end of Dec. 2004) USD 356.8 billion
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of employees                       US 36,489
(As of the end of Dec. 2004)              Total Worldwide: 53,920
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents of business                      Main Products: Life
                                           insurance, annuity,
                                           retirement and savings
                                           products
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Overseas Branches and Offices             Total 9 million
                                           policyholders in 11
                                           countries in Latin America
                                           and Asia
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratings                                   Moody's Aa2 S&P AA