Prudential 2001 Annual Report Download - page 87

Prudential Financial, Inc.
Our insurance, broker-dealer and various other companies are subject to regulatory limitations on the payment of
dividends and on other transfers of funds to affiliates. For the reason noted in the following paragraph, the ability of
Prudential Insurance to pay stockholder dividends will be constrained in the initial years following demutualization.
The principal sources of funds to meet Prudential Financial’s obligations, including the payment of dividends to its
stockholders, will be the net proceeds, after the foregoing cash payments to eligible policyholders, from the initial
public offering of its Common Stock, the offering of the equity security units and the net proceeds from issuances of
the Class B Stock and IHC debt, as well as dividends from the destacked subsidiaries, and interest and fee payments
from subsidiaries.
New Jersey insurance law provides that, except in the case of extraordinary dividends or distributions, all dividends
or distributions paid by Prudential Insurance may be declared or paid only from unassigned surplus, as determined
pursuant to statutory accounting principles, less unrealized investment gains and revaluation of assets. Upon
demutualization, unassigned surplus was reduced to zero, thereby limiting Prudential Insurance’s ability to pay a
dividend immediately following demutualization. As of December 31, 2001, Prudential Insurance’s unassigned
surplus was $228 million, and there were no applicable adjustments for unrealized investment gains or revaluation
of assets for purposes of the foregoing law regarding dividends and distributions. Dividendable funds are expected
to grow thereafter in the ordinary course of business over time. Prudential Insurance also must notify the New
Jersey insurance regulator of its intent to pay a dividend, if the dividend, together with other dividends or
distributions made within the preceding twelve months, would exceed a specified statutory limit and obtain a non-
disapproval from the New Jersey insurance regulator. The current statutory limitation applicable to New Jersey life
insurers generally is the greater of:
(1) 10% of such insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the December 31 next preceding the date of the
proposed dividend or distribution or
(2) the net gain from operations of such insurer, not including realized investment gains, for the 12-month period
ending the December 31 next preceding the date of the proposed dividend or distribution,
in each case determined under statutory accounting principles. Statutory accounting principles differ from GAAP
primarily in relation to deferred policy acquisition costs, deferred taxes, reserve calculation assumptions and
required investment reserves, including the asset valuation reserve and the interest maintenance reserve. The New
Jersey insurance regulator is also authorized to disallow the payment of any dividend or distribution that would
otherwise be permitted under the statutory limit if it determines that a company does not have a reasonable surplus
as to policyholders relative to its outstanding liabilities and adequate to its financial needs or if it finds such
company to be in a hazardous financial condition. The terms of the IHC debt also contain restrictions potentially
limiting dividends by Prudential Insurance applicable to the Financial Services Businesses in the event the Closed
Block Business is in financial distress and other circumstances.
Other states and foreign jurisdictions have similar regulations to those of New Jersey which affect the ability of our
other insurance companies to pay dividends. The laws regulating dividends of the other states and foreign
jurisdictions where our other insurance companies are domiciled are similar, but not identical, to New Jersey’s. In
addition, the net capital rules to which our broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject may limit their ability to pay
dividends to Prudential Financial.
Consolidated Liquidity and Financial Leverage Management
We manage our liquidity and capital resources on a company-wide basis, as well as by legal entity and business,
recognizing regulatory restrictions on transfers of funds among entities engaged in the insurance, securities and
other businesses.
We seek to manage our consolidated liquidity position so that we have, on a cost-effective basis, adequate resources
to satisfy operating cash requirements and investment objectives, as well as to fund business growth. We also seek
to manage our liquidity so that we have adequate sources of funding to support our needs under stress scenarios so
that we can meet our obligations without materially disrupting our operating and investing activities.
We borrow money on an ongoing basis to support our business operations and strategies and seek to do so in a
manner consistent with maintaining and seeking to improve our current credit ratings. We manage our borrowing
according to company-wide, legal entity and business borrowing limits, which are monitored by our Treasurer’s
department and reviewed regularly by the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors. To this end, we monitor a
number of financial leverage measures on a legal entity and on a consolidated basis, including our ratios of
corporate debt to capital, liabilities to equity capital, liquid assets to short-term liabilities, and various other
capitalization and liquidity ratios. We seek to reduce our liquidity and refinancing risks by employing a variety of
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