COREBRIDGE FINANCIAL, INC. – 10-Q – | Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Glossary and Acronyms of Selected Insurance Terms and References
Throughout this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A"), we use certain terms and abbreviations, which are summarized in the Glossary and Acronyms. Corebridge has incorporated into this discussion a number of cross-references to additional information included throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to assist readers seeking additional information related to a particular subject. In this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, unless otherwise mentioned or unless the context indicates otherwise, we use the terms "Corebridge," "we," "us" and "our" to refer toCorebridge Financial, Inc. , aDelaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries. We use the term "Corebridge Parent" to refer solely toCorebridge Financial, Inc. , and not to any of its consolidated subsidiaries. This MD&A addresses the consolidated financial condition of Corebridge as ofSeptember 30, 2022 , compared withDecember 31, 2021 , and its consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months endedSeptember 30, 2022 and 2021. You should read the following analysis of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition,", the "Risk Factors," and the audited consolidated financial statements in the Prospectus, and the statements under "Forward-Looking Statements," and the Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Corebridge | Third Quarter 2022 Form 10-Q 81
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Index to Item 2 Page Executive Summary 83 Overview 83 Revenues 83 Benefits and Expenses 83 Significant Factors Impact 84 Macroeconomic, Industry and Regulatory Trends 92 Use of Non-GAAP Measures 94 Key Operating Metrics 101 Consolidated Results of Operations 104 Business Segment Operations 107 Individual Retirement 108 Group Retirement 112 Life Insurance 116 Institutional Markets 119 Corporate and Other 122 Investments 124 Overview 124 Key Investment Strategies 124 Credit Ratings 127 Insurance Business 144
Life and Annuity Future Policy Benefits, Policyholder Contract Deposits and DAC
144 Liquidity and Capital Resources 149 Overview 149
Liquidity and Capital Resources of Corebridge Parent and it intermediate holding
companies
149
Liquidity and Capital Resources of Corebridge insurance subsidiaries
150 Contractual Obligations 152 Debt 153 Credit Ratings 154 Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Commercial Commitments 155 Critical Accounting Estimates 155 Glossary 156 Certain important terms 158 Acronyms 160 Corebridge | Third Quarter 2022 Form 10-Q 82
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM 2 | Executive Summary Executive Summary OVERVIEW We are one of the largest providers of retirement solutions and insurance products inthe United States , committed to helping individuals plan, save for and achieve secure financial futures. We offer a broad set of products and services through our market leading Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Life Insurance and Institutional Markets businesses, each of which features capabilities and industry experience we believe are difficult to replicate. These four businesses collectively seek to enhance stockholder returns while maintaining our attractive risk profile, which has historically resulted in consistent and strong cash flow generation.
REVENUES
Our revenues come from five principal sources:
•Premiums are principally derived from our traditional life insurance and certain annuity products including PRT transactions and structured settlements with life contingencies. Our premium income is driven by growth in new policies and contracts written and persistency of our in-force policies, both of which are influenced by a combination of factors including our efforts to attract and retain customers and market conditions that influence demand for our products; •Policy fees are principally derived from our individual retirement, group retirement, universal life insurance, corporate- and bank-owned life insurance ("COLI-BOLI") and stable value wrap ("SVW") products. Our policy fees typically vary directly with the underlying account value or benefit base of our annuities. Account value and benefit base are influenced by changes in economic conditions, including changes in levels of equity prices, and changes in levels of interest rates and credit spreads, as well as net flows; •Net investment income from our investment portfolio varies as a result of the yield, allocation and size of our investment portfolio, which are, in turn, a function of capital market conditions and net flows into our total investments, as well as the expenses associated with managing our investment portfolio; •Net realized gains (losses), include changes in the Fortitude Re funds withheld embedded derivative, risk management related derivative activities, changes in the fair value of embedded derivatives in certain of our insurance products and trading activity within our investment portfolio, including trading activity related to the Fortitude Re modco arrangement. Net realized gains (losses) vary due to the timing of sales of investments as well as changes in the fair value of embedded derivatives in certain of our insurance products and derivatives utilized to hedge certain insurance liabilities; and •Advisory fee income and other income includes fees from registered investment advisory services, 12b-1 fees (marketing and distribution fees paid by mutual funds), other asset management fee income, and commission-based broker dealer services. BENEFITS AND EXPENSES
Our benefits and expenses come from five principal sources:
•Policyholder benefits are driven primarily by customer withdrawals and surrenders which change in response to changes in capital market conditions and changes in policy reserves as well as updates to assumptions related to future policyholder behavior, mortality and longevity; •Interest credited to policyholder account balances varies in relation to the amount of the underlying account value or benefit base and also includes changes in the fair value of certain embedded derivatives related to our insurance products; •Amortization of DAC and value of business acquired DAC and value of business acquired ("VOBA") for traditional life insurance products are amortized, with interest, over the premium paying period. DAC and VOBA related to investment-oriented contracts, such as universal life insurance, and fixed, fixed index and variable annuities, are amortized, with interest, in relation to the estimated gross profits to be realized over the estimated lives of the contracts;
•General operating and other expenses include expenses associated with
conducting our business, including salaries, other employee-related compensation
and other operating expenses such as professional services or travel; and
•Interest expense represents the charges associated with our external debt obligations, including debt of consolidated investment entities. This expense varies based on the amount of debt on our balance sheet, as well as the rates of interest associated with those obligations. Interest expense related to consolidated investment entities principally relates to variable interest entities ("VIEs") for which we are the primary beneficiary; however, creditors or beneficial interest holders of VIEs generally only have recourse to the assets and cash flows of the VIEs and do not have recourse to us except in limited circumstances when we have provided a guarantee to the VIE's interest holders. Corebridge | Third Quarter 2022 Form 10-Q 83
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T ABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM 2 | Executive Summary
SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IMPACTING OUR RESULTS
The following significant factors have impacted, and may in the future impact,
our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
Impact of Fortitude Re
In 2018, AIG established Fortitude Re, a wholly-owned subsidiary ofFortitude Group Holdings, LLC ("Fortitude Holdings "), in a series of reinsurance transactions related to certain of AIG's legacy operations. InFebruary 2018 , AGL, VALIC and USL entered into modco agreements with Fortitude Re, a registered Class 4 and Class E reinsurer inBermuda . Additionally, AIG Bermuda novated its assumption of certain long-duration contracts from an affiliated entity to Fortitude Re. In the modco arrangement, the investments supporting the reinsurance agreements, which reflect the majority of the consideration that would be paid to the reinsurer for entering into the transaction, are withheld by, and therefore continue to reside on the balance sheet of, the ceding company (i.e., AGL, VALIC and USL) thereby creating an obligation for the ceding company to pay the reinsurer (i.e., Fortitude Re) at a later date. Additionally, since we maintain ownership of these investments, we reflect our existing accounting for these assets, which consist mostly of available-for-sale securities (e.g., the changes in fair value of available-for-sale securities will be recognized within OCI) on our balance sheet. We have established a funds withheld payable to Fortitude Re while simultaneously establishing a reinsurance asset representing reserves for the insurance coverage that Fortitude Re has assumed. The funds withheld payable contains an embedded derivative and changes in fair value of this derivative are recognized in Net realized gains (losses) on Fortitude Re funds withheld embedded derivative. This embedded derivative is considered a total return swap with contractual returns that are attributable to various assets, primarily available-for-sale securities, associated with these reinsurance agreements. As the majority of the invested assets supporting the modco are fixed income securities that are available-for-sale, there is a mismatch between the accounting for the embedded derivative as its changes in fair value are recorded through net income while changes in the fair value of the fixed maturity securities available for sale are recorded through OCI. OnJuly 1, 2020 , AGL and USL amended the modco agreements. Under the terms of the amendment, certain business ceded to Fortitude Re was recaptured by the Company, and certain additional business was ceded by the Company to Fortitude Re. We recorded an additional non-recurring$91 million loss related entirely to the amendments to the modco agreements.
We do not expect to incur any future loss recognition events related to business
ceded to Fortitude Re, absent any decisions by the Company to recapture the
business. Our accounting policy is to include reinsurance balances when
performing loss recognition testing, and as there will be no future profits
recognized on this business there will be no future loss recognition.
OnJune 2, 2020 , AIG completed the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale. Following closing of the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale, AIG contributed$135 million of its proceeds from the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale to USL. OnOctober 1, 2021 , AIG contributed its remaining 3.5% interest in Fortitude Re Bermuda to us and we obtained AIG's seat on the board of Fortitude Re Bermuda. AtMarch 31, 2022 , our ownership interest in Fortitude Re Bermuda was reduced from 3.5% to 2.46% due to a round of equity financing, by third-party investors, in which we did not participate, that closed onMarch 31, 2022 . As ofSeptember 30, 2022 ,$32.6 billion of reserves related to business written by multiple wholly-owned AIG subsidiaries, including$27.7 billion of reserves related to Corebridge, had been ceded to Fortitude Re. As of closing of the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale onJune 2, 2020 , these reinsurance transactions were no longer considered affiliated transactions. In addition to the loss incurred from the amendments of the Fortitude Re reinsurance agreements, our net income experiences ongoing volatility as a result of the reinsurance agreements, which, as described above, give rise to a funds withheld payable that contains an embedded derivative. However, this net income volatility is almost entirely offset with a corresponding change in OCI, which reflects the fair value change from the investment portfolio supporting the funds withheld payable, which is primarily available- for-sale securities, resulting in minimal impact to our comprehensive income (loss) and equity attributable to Corebridge. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company has begun to elect the fair value option on the acquisition of certain new fixed maturity securities, which will help reduce this mismatch over time. Corebridge | Third Quarter 2022 Form 10-Q 84
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T ABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM 2 | Executive Summary
Fortitude Re funds withheld impact:
Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, (in millions) 2022 2021 2022 2021 Net investment income - Fortitude Re funds withheld assets$ 157 $ 445 $ 617$ 1,336 Net realized gains (losses) on Fortitude Re funds withheld assets: Net realized gains (losses)on Fortitude Re funds withheld assets (89) 169 (272) 482 Net realized gains (losses) on Fortitude Re funds withheld embedded derivatives 1,463 (195) 6,694 (29) Net realized gains (losses) on Fortitude Re funds withheld assets 1,374 (26) 6,422 453 Income (loss) before income tax benefit (expense) 1,531 419 7,039 1,789 Income tax benefit (expense)* (322) (88) (1,478) (376) Net income (loss) 1,209 331 5,561 1,413 Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of the invested assets supporting the Fortitude Re modco arrangement classified as available for sale* (1,090) (314) (5,242) (1,373) Comprehensive income (loss)$ 119
* The income tax expense (benefit) and the tax impact on OCI were computed
using Corebridge's
Various assets supporting the Fortitude Re funds withheld arrangements are reported at amortized cost, and as such, changes in the fair value of these assets are not reflected in the financial statements. However, changes in the fair value of these assets are included in the embedded derivative in the Fortitude Re funds withheld arrangement and the appreciation (depreciation) of the assets is the primary driver of the comprehensive income (loss) reflected above.
For further details on this transaction, see Note 7 to our audited annual
consolidated financial statements.
Impact of Variable Annuity GMWB Riders and Hedging
Our Individual Retirement and Group Retirement businesses offer variable annuity products with GMWB riders that provide guaranteed living benefit features. The liabilities for GMWBs are accounted for as embedded derivatives and measured at fair value. The fair value of the embedded derivatives may fluctuate significantly based on market interest rates, equity prices, credit spreads, market volatility, policyholder behavior and other factors. In addition to risk-mitigating features in our variable annuity product design, we have an economic hedging program designed to manage market risk from GMWB, including exposures to changes in interest rates, equity prices, credit spreads and volatility. The hedging program utilizes derivative instruments, including, but not limited to, equity options, futures contracts and interest rate swap and option contracts, as well as fixed maturity securities.
Differences in Valuation of Embedded Derivatives and Economic Hedge Target
Our variable annuity hedging program utilizes an economic hedge target, which represents an estimate of the underlying economic risks in our GMWB riders. The economic hedge target differs from the GAAP valuation of the GMWB embedded derivatives, creating volatility in our net income (loss) primarily due to the following:
•the economic hedge target includes 100% of rider fees in present value
calculations; the GAAP valuation reflects only those fees attributed to the
embedded derivative such that the initial value at contract issue equals zero;
•the economic hedge target uses best estimate actuarial assumptions and excludes explicit risk margins used for GAAP valuation, such as margins for policyholder behavior, mortality and volatility; and •the economic hedge target excludes the non-performance, or "own credit" risk adjustment used in the GAAP valuation, which reflects a market participant's view of our claims-paying ability by incorporating a different spread (the "NPA spread") to the curve used to discount projected benefit cash flows. Because the discount rate includes the NPA spread and other explicit risk margins, the GAAP valuation has different sensitivities to movements in interest rates and other market factors, and to changes from actuarial assumption updates, than the economic hedge target.
For more information on our valuation methodology for embedded derivatives
within policyholder contract deposits, see Note 4 to our audited annual
consolidated financial statements.
The market value of the hedge portfolio compared to the economic hedge target at any point in time may be different and is not expected to be fully offsetting. In addition to the derivatives held in conjunction with the variable annuity hedging program, we generally have cash and invested assets available to cover future claims payable under these guarantees. The primary sources of difference between the change in the fair value of the hedging portfolio and the economic hedge target include:
•basis risk due to the variance between expected and actual fund returns, which
may be either positive or negative;
Corebridge | Third Quarter 2022 Form 10-Q 85
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T ABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM 2 | Executive Summary
•realized volatility versus implied volatility;
•actual versus expected changes in the hedge target driven by assumptions not
subject to hedging, particularly policyholder behavior; and
•risk exposures that we have elected not to explicitly or fully hedge.
The following table presents the net increase (decrease) to consolidated pre-tax income (loss) from changes in the fair value of the GMWB embedded derivatives and related hedges, excluding related DAC amortization: Three Months Ended September Nine Months Ended September 30, 30, (in millions) 2022 2021 2022 2021 Change in fair value of embedded derivatives, excluding the update of actuarial assumptions and NPA(a)(b)$ 722 $ 317 $ 2,056 $ 2,224 Change in fair value of variable annuity hedging portfolio: Fixed maturity securities(c) 6 12 29 43 Interest rate derivative contracts (479) (140) (2,071) (784) Equity derivative contracts 194 12 1,109 (768) Change in fair value of variable annuity hedging portfolio (279) (116) (933) (1,509) Change in fair value of embedded derivatives excluding the update of actuarial assumptions and NPA, net of hedging portfolio 443 201 1,123 715
Change in fair value of embedded derivatives due to
NPA spread
216 (43) 1,188 (136)
Change in fair value of embedded derivatives due to
change in NPA volume
(290) (27) (959) (391)
Change in fair value of embedded derivatives due to
the update of actuarial assumptions
79 (60) 79 (60) Total change due to the update of actuarial assumptions and NPA 5 (130) 308 (587) Net impact on pre-tax income (loss) 448 71 1,431 128 Impact to Consolidated Income Statement line Net investment income, net of related interest credited to policyholder account balances 6 12 29 43 Net realized gains (losses) 442 59 1,402 85 Net impact on pre-tax income (loss) 448 71 1,431 128 Net change in value of economic hedge target and related hedges Net impact on economic gains$ 476
(a)The non-performance risk adjustment ("NPA") adjusts the valuation of
derivatives to account for our own non-performance risk in the fair value
measurement of
all derivative net liability positions.
(b)The change in fair value of embedded derivatives, excluding the update of actuarial assumptions and NPA for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2021 , was revised from$2,136 million to$2,224 million . The net realized gains (losses) for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2021 were revised from$(3) million to$85 million . These revisions had no impact on Corebridge's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and are not considered material to the previously issued financial statements. (c)The impact to OCI were losses of$120 million and$550 million for the three and nine months endedSeptember 30, 2022 , respectively, and losses of$23 million and$134 million for the three and nine months endedSeptember 30, 2021 , respectively. The three and nine months endedSeptember 30, 2022 reflected losses due to higher interest rates and widening spreads. The losses in the three and nine months endedSeptember 30, 2021 were due to higher interest rates.
Three Months Ended
Net impact on pre-tax income of
•$443 million gain in the fair value of embedded derivatives excluding NPA, net of the hedging portfolio was driven by increases in interest rates, partially offset by lower equity markets. •$74 million loss due to NPA was driven by the impact of higher interest rates that resulted in NPA volume losses from lower expected GMWB payments, partially offset by widening of the NPA credit spread.
•$79 million gain from the review and update of actuarial assumptions.
On an economic basis, the changes in the fair value of the hedge portfolio were partially offset by the changes in the economic hedge target. In the three months endedSeptember 30, 2022 , we had a net mark-to-market gain of approximately$476 million from our hedging activities related to our economic hedge target primarily driven by widening credit spreads and update of actuarial assumptions. Corebridge | Third Quarter 2022 Form 10-Q 86
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Nine Months Ended
Net impact on pre-tax income of
•$1.1 billion gain in the fair value of embedded derivatives excluding NPA, net of the hedging portfolio was driven by increases in interest rates, partially offset by lower equity markets. •$229 million gain due to NPA was driven by a widening of the NPA credit spread, partially offset by the impact of higher interest rates that resulted in NPA volume losses from lower expected GMWB payments.
•$79 million gain from the review and update of actuarial assumptions.
On an economic basis, the changes in the fair value of the hedge portfolio were partially offset by the changes in the economic hedge target. In the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2022 , we had a net mark-to-market gain of approximately$845 million from our hedging activities related to our economic hedge target primarily driven by widening credit spreads and update of actuarial assumptions.
Three Months Ended
Net impact on pre-tax income of
•$201 million gain in the fair value of embedded derivatives excluding NPA, net
of the hedging portfolio was driven by increases in interest rates.
•$70 million loss due to NPA was driven by a tightening of the NPA credit
spread, and the impact of higher interest rates that resulted in NPA volume
losses from lower expected GMWB payments.
•$60 million loss from the review and update of actuarial assumptions.
On an economic basis, the changes in the fair value of the hedge portfolio were partially offset by the changes in the economic hedge target. In the three months endedSeptember 30, 2021 , we had a net mark-to-market gain of approximately$58 million from our hedging activities related to our economic hedge target primarily driven by higher equity markets, partially offset by losses from the update of actuarial assumptions.
Nine Months Ended
Net impact on pre-tax income of
•$715 million gain in the fair value of embedded derivatives excluding NPA, net of the hedging portfolio was driven by increases in interest rates and higher equity markets.
•$527 million loss due to NPA was driven by a tightening of the NPA credit
spread, and the impact of higher interest rates that resulted in NPA volume
losses from lower expected GMWB payments.
•$60 million loss from the review and update of actuarial assumptions.
On an economic basis, the changes in the fair value of the hedge portfolio were partially offset by the changes in the economic hedge target. In the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2021 , we had a net mark-to-market gain of approximately$135 million from our hedging activities related to our economic hedge target primarily driven by higher equity markets, partially offset by losses from the update of actuarial assumptions.
Embedded Derivatives for Variable Annuity, Fixed Index Annuity and Index
Universal Life Products
Certain of our variable annuity contracts contain GMWBs and are accounted for as embedded derivatives. Additionally, certain fixed index annuity contracts contain GMWBs or indexed interest credits which are accounted for as embedded derivatives and our index universal life insurance products also contain embedded derivatives. Policyholders may elect to rebalance among the various accounts within the product at specified renewal dates. At the end of each index term, we generally have the opportunity to re-price the indexed component by establishing different participation rates or caps on equity indexed credited rates. The index crediting feature of these products results in the recognition of an embedded derivative that is required to be bifurcated from the host contract and carried at fair value with changes in the fair value of the liabilities recorded in Net realized gains (losses). Option pricing models are used to estimate fair value, taking into account assumptions for future equity index growth rates, volatility of the equity index, future interest rates and our ability to adjust the participation rate and the cap on equity indexed credited rates in light of market conditions and policyholder behavior assumptions. Corebridge | Third Quarter 2022 Form 10-Q 87
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T ABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM 2 | Executive Summary
The following table summarizes the fair values of the embedded derivatives for
variable annuities, fixed index annuity and index universal life products:
At September 30, At December 31, (in millions) 2022 2021 Variable annuities GMWBs $ 698 $ 2,472 Fixed index annuities, including certain GMWBs 5,095 6,445 Index Life 555 765
Actuarial Assumption Changes
Most of the fixed annuities, fixed index annuities, variable annuity products and universal life insurance products we offer maintain policyholder deposits that are reported as liabilities and classified within either separate account liabilities or policyholder contract deposits. Our products and riders also impact liabilities for future policyholder benefits and unearned revenues and assets for DAC and DSI. The valuation of these assets and liabilities (other than deposits) is based on differing accounting methods depending on the product, each of which requires numerous assumptions and considerable judgment. The accounting guidance applied in the valuation of these assets and liabilities includes, but is not limited to, the following: (i) traditional life insurance products for which assumptions are locked in at inception; (ii) universal life insurance secondary guarantees for which benefit liabilities are determined by estimating the expected value of death benefits payable when the account balance is projected to be zero and recognizing those benefits ratably over the accumulation period based on total expected assessments; (iii) certain product guarantees for which benefit liabilities are accrued over the life of the contract in proportion to actual and future expected policy assessments; (iv) certain product guarantees reported as embedded derivatives which are carried at fair value; and (v) unearned revenue and assets for DAC, VOBA and DSI related to investment-oriented contracts, such as universal life insurance, and fixed, fixed index and variable annuities, which are amortized in relation to the estimated gross profits. At least annually, typically in the third quarter, we conduct a comprehensive review of the underlying assumptions within our actuarially determined assets and liabilities. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, policyholder behavior, mortality, expenses, investment returns and policy crediting rates. Changes in assumptions can result in a significant change to the carrying value of product liabilities and assets and, consequently, the impact could be material to earnings in the period of the change. For further details of our accounting policies and related judgments pertaining to assumption updates, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Critical Accounting Estimates-DAC" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Critical Accounting Estimates-Future Policy Benefits for Life and Accident and Health Insurance Contracts" in the Prospectus.
The following table presents the increase (decrease) in pre-tax income resulting
from the annual update of actuarial assumptions, which occurs in the third
quarter of each year, by financial statement line item as reported in the
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss):
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