My earlier post speculated on the reasons the D.C. District Court struck down the Financial Stability Oversight Counsel’s (“FSOC”) designation of MetLife as a non-bank systemically important financial institution (“SIFI”). The court unsealed its opinion on April 7, and my tealeaf reading was generally accurate. FSOC appealed the decision almost immediately. But I wonder if an appeal is the best response to the district court’s order?

MetLife won the first round in its fight against designation as a nonbank systemically important financial institution (“SIFI”). The court’s opinion will be under seal until at least April 6, so we do not know why the court rescinded the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (“FSOC’s”) designation. But connecting the dots between the order and MetLife’s complaint suggests some intriguing results.