MetLife to sell mortgage servicing portfolio to JPMorgan

MetLife Inc, the largest U.S. life insurer, said it will sell MetLife Bank's mortgage servicing portfolio to a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co for an undisclosed amount, as it looks to exit its bank holding structure.

The $70 billion servicing portfolio will increase JPMorganChase Bank's $1.1 trillion servicing business by more than 5 percent, MetLife said in a statement.

MetLife said in a regulatory filing last Wednesday that it had begun exploring the sale of MetLife Bank's forward mortgage servicing assets and operation, and was reporting the business as divested.

The Federal Reserve last month extended the deadline for MetLife to resubmit its capital plans while the company works to complete the sale of its bank deposit-taking operations to GE Capital.

MetLife has a bank holding company charter because of its banking unit and is therefore overseen by the Fed. In March, the company failed a stress test and was blocked by the U.S. central bank from raising its dividend or buying back shares.

MetLife shares closed at $34.70 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.