Report: MassMutual faces SEC scrutiny over accounting practices

SPRINGFIELD — Regulators with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating accounting practices at MassMutual, the Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing sources within the agency.

A mutual company owned by owners of eligible life insurance policies, MassMutual falls under the regulatory arm of the SEC.

The Journal says the Securities and Exchange Commission has focused on how MassMutual accounts for income earned on billions of dollars in loans.

Reached Thursday, a MassMutual spokesperson said the insurer doesn’t comment on regulatory matters.

Phone calls and emails to the SEC in Washington went unreturned.

The Journal says the probe has yet to be completed and may not result in any accusations of wrongdoing.

The probe focuses on accrued interest, that is interest paid over time. The Journal said the SEC is looking at whether MassMutual properly reconciled accrued interest as it received payments on loans held in its general investment account.

MassMutual has more than $1 trillion in life insurance protection in force and has paid more than $60 billion in insurance and annuity benefits over the past decade.

Last year, it announced a dividend payment of $2.5 billion, the largest in MassMutual’s history.

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