NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) today announced that the company originated $3.6 billion in agricultural loans in 2016 through its subsidiaries and affiliates. MetLife’s Agricultural Finance Group is one of the largest agricultural mortgage lenders in the nation with a loan portfolio at year-end 2016 of $14.7 billion, the largest in the company’s history.
“MetLife had a busy year lending to its agricultural customers in the United States and abroad, growing its portfolio to a record level,” said Robert Merck, global head of the Agricultural Finance Group for MetLife. “This year we are celebrating our 100th anniversary as an agricultural lender, a major milestone for us, and something we are especially proud to commemorate. Our customers know that they can rely on us as a trusted source of financing for their long-term growth, and this drives our success year after year.”
In 2016, the average loan-to-value ratio of MetLife’s overall agricultural mortgage portfolio remained at 43 percent.
“We are proud of our performance in 2016, growing our portfolio to its highest level ever despite lower commodity prices and net farm income,” said Barry Bogseth, managing director and head of MetLife’s Agricultural Finance Group. “In 2017, we expect to continue our growth by identifying superior agricultural lending opportunities in the United States and abroad.”
Highlights of MetLife’s domestic agricultural lending transactions for 2016 include:
Good Luck Properties, LLC
- $11.1 million, 20-year term loan fixed for 10 years
- Secured by a high quality 4,545 acre irrigated farm located in Mississippi
- Security is used for the production of cotton, rice and row crops; managed by a family with decades of crop production experience
Rose Acre Farms, Inc.
- $49 million, 15-year fixed rate financing, to be funded in three tranches over two years
- Secured by new cage-free egg layer facilities located in Arizona
- Rose Acre Farms is the second largest producer and marketer of eggs in the United States
Keweenaw Land Association Limited
- $30 million, 10-year fixed rate term loan to be funded in two tranches
- Adjustable rate revolving line of credit
- Secured by high grade timberland located across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin
- Borrower is a forest products and land management company
MetLife’s Agricultural Finance Group oversees an agricultural portfolio consisting primarily of mortgages for farms, ranches, food production, agribusiness and timberland. MetLife has provided agricultural financing solutions since 1917 and is one of the largest agricultural mortgage lenders in the nation. MetLife has agricultural investments offices in Fresno, Calif., Overland Park, Kan., Memphis, Tenn., and a consulting office in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
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