Dominic D’Alessandro, president and CEO, Manulife Financial Corp., says the insurer is in good financial shape, despite plans by the company to take a $250-million charge in the third quarter because of the ongoing financial crisis.

The insurance giant had earlier revealed it had about $1.4 billion in exposure to troubled U.S. financial companies.

The $250 million charge, announced Monday, includes $50 million from higher reserves for losses following credit downgrades on bonds and other investments it owns. The charge is primarily a result of exposure to troubled credits at Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers and AIG.

In a conference call on Tuesday morning, D’Alessandro insisted that concerns about the company’s capital position are “grossly exaggerated.”

“We remain very well capitalized and we have no intention to issue equity capital contrary to speculation,” he said.

Alongside Simon Curtis, executive vp and chief actuary at Manulife, D’Alessandro gave a presentation about the impact of equity markets on the company’s capital position.

The company’s management decided to hold the presentation following last week’s speculation about Manulife’s guarantees with respect to variable annuities, the condition of its credit portfolio, its investment portfolio generally, and its overall capital position, D’Alessandro said.

In an overview of Manulife’s estimated third quarter results, Curtis said the company expects its required capital to increase from $7.8 billion in the second quarter to $9.3 billion in the third quarter. D’Alessandro said this is not unusual given the current state of equity markets.

“Markets have moved very, very dramatically since the end of the second quarter, and given the size of our business and the size of our equity exposures, I’m not surprised that there’s been an increase in the required capital,” he said.

The company’s available capital also increased from $15.7 billion in the second quarter, to an estimated $17 billion in the third quarter, as a result of capital repositioning from other parts of the organization.

If markets remain “significantly depressed,” Curtis said they will put downward pressure on Manulife’s capital ratios, likely resulting in ratios below the company’s target levels in the fourth quarter. If markets improve, however, Curtis said ratios could be well within Manulife’s target range.

Manulife plans to continue pursuing capital initiatives in the fourth quarter, including rebalancing capital within its corporate structure. The company does not anticipate having to raise external capital in order to maintain fourth quarter ratios.

Curtis asserted that in the long run, Manulife’s balance sheet and income levels are healthy. “Once we get through the period of market volatility and lower markets, our balance sheet will be a strong solid platform to both rebuild the capital base, grow the capital base from organic means,” he said.

In addressing concerns about Manulife’s segregated fund guarantees, Curtis said the benefits are extremely long-dated, and their total potential costs are well within the existing resources of the company.

“There is still very limited cost associated with these cash flows,” Curtis said.

IE