For purposes of this discussion, unless otherwise mentioned or unless the context indicates otherwise, “Brighthouse,” “Brighthouse Financial,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Brighthouse Financial, Inc. a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries. We use the term “BHF” to refer solely to Brighthouse Financial, Inc., and not to any of its subsidiaries. Until August 4, 2017, BHF was a wholly-owned subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, “MetLife”). Following this summary is a discussion addressing the consolidated financial conditions and results of operations of the Company for the periods indicated. This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Summary of Risk Factors,” “Risk Factors,” “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” and the Company’s consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein.
•Brighthouse Reinsurance Company of Delaware (“BRCD”), our reinsurance subsidiary domiciled and licensed in Delaware, which is a subsidiary of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company;
Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the capital markets and the economy generally. Stressed conditions, volatility and disruptions in the capital markets or financial asset classes can have an adverse effect on us. The impact on capital markets and the economy generally of the priorities and policies of the Biden administration is uncertain. See “Risk Factors - Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks - If difficult conditions in the capital markets and the U.S. economy generally persist or are perceived to persist, they may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.” Equity market performance can affect our profitability for variable annuities and other separate account products as a result of the effects it has on product demand, revenues, expenses, reserves and our risk management effectiveness. The level of long-term interest rates and the shape of the yield curve can have a negative effect on the profitability for variable annuities and the demand for, and the profitability of, spread-based products such as fixed annuities, index-linked annuities and universal life insurance. Low interest rates and risk premium, including credit spread, affect new money rates on invested assets and the cost of product guarantees. Insurance premium growth and demand for our products is impacted by the general health of U.S. economic activity.
The following table presents the impact of the AAR on pre-tax adjusted earnings and income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. The impact related to GMLBs is included in income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax, but is not included in pre-tax adjusted earnings. See “- Non-GAAP and Other Financial Disclosures.”
•lower asset-based fees from lower average separate account balances, a portion of which is offset in other expenses.
◦higher paid claims, net of reinsurance in the current period; and
Comparative results from GMLB Riders were favorable by $61 million, primarily driven by:
(3)Adjusted net investment income presented in the yield table varies from the most directly comparable GAAP measure due to certain reclassifications, as presented below.
The NAIC has methodologies to assess credit quality for certain Structured Securities comprised of non-agency RMBS, CMBS and ABS. The NAIC’s objective with these methodologies is to increase the accuracy in assessing expected losses, and to use the improved assessment to determine a more appropriate capital requirement for such Structured Securities. The methodologies reduce regulatory reliance on rating agencies and allow for greater regulatory input into the assumptions used to estimate expected losses from Structured Securities. We apply the NAIC methodologies to Structured Securities held by our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD. The NAIC’s present methodology is to evaluate Structured Securities held by insurers on an annual basis. If our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD, acquire Structured Securities that have not been previously evaluated by the NAIC but are expected to be evaluated by the NAIC in the upcoming annual review, an internally developed designation is used until a final designation becomes available.
The following table presents total fixed maturity securities by NRSRO rating and the applicable NAIC designation from the NAIC published comparison of NRSRO ratings to NAIC designations, except for certain Structured Securities, which are presented using the NAIC methodologies, as well as the percentage, based on estimated fair value that each NAIC designation is comprised of at:
Our residential mortgage loan portfolio is managed in a similar manner to reduce risk of concentration. All residential mortgage loans were collateralized by properties located in the U.S. at both December 31, 2020 and 2019. The carrying value as a percentage of total residential mortgage loans for the top three states in the U.S. was as follows at:
Since March 1, 2020, we have completed loan modifications and have provided waivers to certain covenants, including the furniture, fixture and expense reserves, tenant rent payment deferrals or lease modifications, rate reductions, maturity date extensions, and other actions with a number of our borrowers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A subset of these modifications included short-term principal and interest forbearance. At December 31, 2020, the recorded investment on mortgage loans where borrowers were offered debt service forbearance and were not making payments was $299 million, comprised of $197 million commercial mortgage loans, $23 million of agricultural mortgage loans and $79 million of residential mortgage loans. These types of modifications are generally not considered troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) due to certain relief granted by U.S. federal legislation in March 2020. For more information on TDRs, see Note 6 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
(1)The estimated fair value of real estate limited partnerships and LLCs was $501 million and $529 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The following table presents the breakdown of account value subject to minimum guaranteed crediting rates for Annuities at:
Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally. Stressed conditions, volatility or disruptions in global capital markets, particular markets or financial asset classes can impact us adversely, in part because we have a large investment portfolio and our insurance liabilities and derivatives are sensitive to changing market factors. Changing conditions in the global capital markets and the economy may affect our financing costs and market interest rates for our debt or equity securities. For further information regarding market factors that could affect our ability to meet liquidity and capital needs, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business - The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, including our capitalization and liquidity,” “- Industry Trends and Uncertainties - COVID-19 Pandemic” and “- Investments - Current Environment.”
Our debt instruments and credit and committed facilities contain certain administrative, reporting and legal covenants. Additionally, our 2019 Revolving Credit Facility contains financial covenants, including requirements to maintain a specified minimum adjusted consolidated net worth, to maintain a ratio of total indebtedness to total capitalization not in excess of a specified percentage and that place limitations on the dollar amount of indebtedness that may be incurred by our subsidiaries, which could restrict our operations and use of funds. At December 31, 2020, we were in compliance with these financial covenants.
See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information on debt repayments.
Our major contractual obligations were as follows at December 31, 2020:
Actual cash payments on insurance liabilities may differ significantly from the liabilities as presented on the consolidated balance sheet and the estimated cash payments as presented in the table above due to differences between actual experience and the assumptions used in the establishment of the liabilities and the estimation of the cash payments. All estimated cash payments are presented gross of any reinsurance recoverable.
Variable annuity An annuity that offers guaranteed periodic payments for a specified period of time or for a lifetime and gives owners the ability to invest in various markets though the underlying investment options, which may result in potentially higher, but variable, returns.
The Company amortizes DAC and VOBA related to term non-participating whole life insurance over the appropriate premium paying period in proportion to the actual and expected future gross premiums that were set at contract issue. The expected premiums are based upon the premium requirement of each policy and assumptions for mortality, in-force or persistency and investment returns at policy issuance, or policy acquisition (as it relates to VOBA), include provisions for adverse deviation, and are consistent with the assumptions used to calculate future policy benefit liabilities. These assumptions are not revised after policy issuance or acquisition unless the DAC or VOBA balance is deemed to be unrecoverable from future expected profits.
The Company receives asset-based distribution and service fees from mutual funds available to the variable life and annuity contract holders as investment options in its separate accounts. These fees are recognized in the period in which the related services are performed and are included in other revenues in the statement of operations.
The Company cedes risks to MLIC related to guaranteed minimum benefits written directly by the Company. The ceded reinsurance agreement contains embedded derivatives and changes in the estimated fair value are also included within net derivative gains (losses). Net derivative gains (losses) associated with the embedded derivatives were less than ($1) million for the year ended December 31, 2018.
The Company held non-income producing fixed maturity securities with an estimated fair value of $5 million at December 31, 2020. The Company did not hold any non-income producing fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2019.
The Company receives investment administrative services from MetLife Investment Management, LLC (formerly known as MetLife Investment Advisors, LLC), which was considered a related party investment manager until the completion of the MetLife Divestiture. The related investment administrative service charges were $50 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.
(9)Changes in unrealized gains (losses) included in net income (loss) for fixed maturities are reported in either net investment income or net investment gains (losses). Substantially all changes in unrealized gains (losses) included in net income (loss) for net derivatives and net embedded derivatives are reported in net derivative gains (losses).
In March 2019, BHF issued depositary shares, each representing a 1/1,000th ownership interest in a share of BHF’s perpetual 6.600% Series A non-cumulative preferred stock (the “Series A Preferred Stock”) and in the aggregate representing 17,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, with a stated amount of $25,000 per share, for aggregate net cash proceeds of $412 million. Dividends, if declared, will accrue and be payable quarterly, in arrears, at an annual rate of 6.600% on the stated amount per share. In connection with the issuance of the depositary shares and the underlying Series A Preferred Stock, BHF incurred $13 million of issuance costs, which have been recorded as a reduction of additional paid-in capital.
On August 5, 2018, BHF authorized the repurchase of up to $200 million of its common stock. On May 3, 2019, BHF authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $400 million of its common stock. On February 6, 2020, BHF authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $500 million of its common stock. Future repurchases may be made through open market purchases, including pursuant to 10b5-1 plans or pursuant to accelerated stock repurchase plans, or through privately negotiated transactions, from time to time at management’s discretion in accordance with applicable legal requirements. On May 11, 2020, the Company announced that it had temporarily suspended repurchases of its common stock. On August 24, 2020, the Company resumed repurchases of its common stock, as was announced on August 21, 2020. See Note 17 for information relating to the authorization of share repurchases subsequent to December 31, 2020.
Brighthouse Services sponsors qualified and non-qualified defined contribution plans. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the total employer contributions for the qualified defined contribution plan were $17 million, $15 million and $14 million, respectively, and the total expense recognition for the non-qualified defined contribution plans were $7 million, $6 million and $3 million, respectively, all of which are reported in other expenses.
The Company had income and expenses from transactions with MetLife (excluding broker-dealer transactions) of ($182) million and $133 million, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2018.