These factors include: (equity, real estate, obligors and counterparties, currency exchange rates, derivatives, and terrorism and security; (2) adverse global capital and credit market conditions, which may affect our ability to meet liquidity needs and access capital, including through our credit facilities; (3) downgrades in our claims paying ability, financial strength or credit ratings; (4) availability and effectiveness of reinsurance, hedging or indemnification arrangements; (5) increasing cost and limited market capacity for statutory life insurance reserve financings; (6) the impact on us of changes to and implementation of the wide variety of laws and regulations to which we are subject; (7) regulatory, legislative or tax changes relating to our operations that may affect the cost of, or demand for, our products or services; (8) adverse results or other consequences from litigation, arbitration or regulatory investigations; (9) legal, regulatory and other restrictions affecting MetLife, Inc.’s ability to pay dividends and repurchase common stock; (10) MetLife, Inc.’s primary reliance, as a holding company, on dividends from subsidiaries to meet free cash flow targets and debt payment obligations and the applicable regulatory restrictions on the ability of the subsidiaries to pay such dividends; (11) investment losses, defaults and volatility; (12) potential liquidity and other risks resulting from our participation in a securities lending program and other transactions; (13) changes to investment valuations, allowances and impairments taken on investments, and methodologies, estimates and assumptions; (14) differences between actual claims experience and underwriting and reserving assumptions; (15) political, legal, operational, economic and other risks relating to our global operations; (16) competitive pressures, including with respect to pricing, entry of new competitors, consolidation of distributors, the development of new products by new and existing competitors, and for personnel; (17) the impact of technological changes on our businesses; (18) catastrophe losses; (19) a deterioration in the experience of the closed block established in connection with the reorganization of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; (20) impairment of goodwill or other long-lived assets, or the establishment of a valuation allowance against our deferred income tax asset; (21) changes in assumptions related to deferred policy acquisition costs, deferred sales inducements or value of business acquired; (22) exposure to losses related to guarantees in certain products; (23) ineffectiveness of risk management policies and procedures or models; (24) a failure in our cybersecurity systems or other information security systems or our disaster recovery plans; (25) any failure to protect the confidentiality of client information; (26) changes in accounting standards; (27) our associates taking excessive risks; (28) difficulties in marketing and distributing products through our distribution channels; (29) increased expenses relating to pension and other postretirement benefit plans; (30) inability to protect our intellectual property rights or claims of infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; (31) difficulties, unforeseen liabilities, asset impairments, or rating agency actions arising from business acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, or other legal entity reorganizations; (32) unanticipated or adverse developments that could adversely affect our expected operational or other benefits from the separation of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries; (33) the possibility that MetLife, Inc.’s Board of Directors may influence the outcome of stockholder votes through the voting provisions of the MetLife Policyholder Trust; (34) provisions of laws and our incorporation documents that may delay, deter or prevent takeovers and corporate combinations involving MetLife; and (35) other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in MetLife, Inc.’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.