New York Life Decides to Remain
                   A Mutual Insurer, Bucking Trend

                   By DEBORAH LOHSE
                   Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

                   NEW YORK -- New York Life Insurance Co., bucking a trend among
                   policyholder-owned "mutual" life insurance companies, has decided not to
                   become a publicly traded company.

                   New York Life, the fourth-largest life insurer in terms of assets, is
                   expected to announce Wednesday that its 16-member board voted
                   unanimously Monday to remain a mutual insurer. Sy Sternberg, New York
                   Life's chairman, said the main reason for staying put was "the fact that our
                   culture is built on mutuality," or ownership solely by policyholders, and, as
                   a result, New York Life has "an identity and a level of differentiation" from
                   other insurers.

                                     The decision stands in stark contrast to those of
                                     many other large mutual insurers, including
                                     Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., John Hancock
                                     Mutual Life Insurance Co., and Prudential
                                     Insurance Co. of America. These companies have
                                     announced plans to "demutualize," a cumbersome
                                     process of converting to ownership by outside
                                     shareholders that includes giving shares to
                                     policyholders.

                                     Some analysts had already predicted that New
                                     York Life, with $18.9 billion in revenue and $84.5
                                     billion in assets in 1997, would resist going public.
                   Robert Riegel, an analyst with Moody's Investors Service Inc., said New
                   York Life has "harped" on mutuality "being core to the company a lot more
                   than Met, Pru or Hancock." He noted, New York Life unsuccessfully
                   lobbied hard in New York's state legislature for a bill that would have
                   allowed the company to maintain many aspects of its mutuality under a
                   hybrid structure known as a mutual-holding company.

                   Some analysts speculated that New York Life may have been fearful that it
                   would become an attractive takeover target if it was publicly traded, a
                   lesser worry for larger companies, such as Prudential and Met Life.
                   Typically, companies that demutualize initially trade at a discount to their
                   book value because their return on equity lags behind more financially
                   disciplined publicly traded insurers. Thus, an ambitious larger insurer could
                   scoop up the cheap shares and squeeze out the inefficiencies to its own
                   advantage.

                   New York Life's Mr. Sternberg said takeover concerns were last on a list
                   of several reasons New York Life opted to stay mutual, although he
                   conceded control was a concern. "Needless to say we'd be a very eligible
                   candidate" for takeover if the company went public, he said. More
                   importantly, he said, as a publicly traded company, New York Life's "first
                   allegiance" would have to be "providing a decent return to shareholders,"
                   rather than maximizing dividends on whole-life policies.

                   Mr. Sternberg said New York Life has enough capital for its current goals,
                   including more than $2 billion in capital available for deals and start-up
                   operations, plus it has the ability to issue additional "surplus notes."

                   Still, the question of a demutualized New York Life may yet emerge again.
                   Mr. Sternberg said he believes the "culture of mutuality" will remain
                   important for the "next five to 10 years," although he conceded capital
                   needs could change before then.

                   He added that he will watch closely to see how the demutualization of Met
                   Life progresses. Met Life's plans, which have yet to be approved by
                   regulators, include keeping all the shares that policyholders don't sell in a
                   trust. A trustee would have limited voting powers over those shares while
                   they are in the trust, possibly providing some takeover protection.