Welcome to the 2020 Annual Meeting for MetLife. Our host for today's call is Glenn Hubbard, Chairman. At this time, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. I will now turn the call over to your host, Mr. Hubbard. You may begin, sir.
Thank you, and good afternoon, and welcome to the 2020 Annual Meeting of MetLife shareholders on June 16th, 2020. I'm Glenn Hubbard, Chairman of the Board of MetLife, and the time is 2:31 P.M. I hereby call the meeting to order. In order to ensure everyone's safety and minimize risks to anyone's health, this year's Annual Shareholders Meeting is only virtual. With no in-person meeting, I and we all at MetLife wish all of you well in this very challenging period. During this meeting, or the question period that follows, we may discuss potential MetLife actions or future results. What actually happens could, of course, turn out differently due in part to the uncertainties described in the risk factors included in MetLife's SEC filings. Joining the meeting today are other members of the Board of Directors, including Michel Khalaf, the President and Chief Executive Officer.
Also joining the meeting today is the rest of the executive management team. Representatives from our independent auditors, Deloitte & Touche LLP, are also part of the meeting today. The Board has appointed an agent of Broadridge Financial Solutions to serve as the Inspector of Election for this meeting, and Christopher Woods is serving in that capacity and is part of this meeting. Mr. Woods has previously taken his oath as the Inspector of Election. Now, before we proceed, I would like to recognize
Jim Kilts, who will be retiring from the Board after today's meeting. I would like to thank Jim for his outstanding leadership and his outstanding service as a member of the Board of Directors since 2005. The rules of conduct and procedures for today's meeting are accessible at the lower right of your screen. I declare the polls open now as of 2:32 P.M.
Shareholders, as of the April 23rd, 2020, record date, who registered for this meeting with their control number may vote their shares online at any time until the closing of the polls by clicking the "Vote Here" button on your screen. Of course, if you've previously submitted a proxy and don't wish to change your vote, your vote will be cast as you previously instructed. No further action required. Following the conclusion of the formal meeting, shareholders who registered for this meeting with their control number will be able to ask questions via the text window on the lower left of your screen, and members of executive management and the Board will be available to respond as well. Those attending the meeting as guests who logged in without a control number are welcome to listen to the meeting and the question-and-answer session.
We'll begin by attending to the formal business of the meeting. Registered shareholders may submit questions at any time during this meeting by typing them into the text box on your screen. I will ask Tim Ring, Vice President and Company Secretary, to confirm the mailing of the meeting notice to our shareholders.
Thank you, Glenn. I confirm that we have received an affidavit from Broadridge, the company's agent for the proxy mailing, attesting to the fact that the mailing of the notice of this meeting to shareholders commenced on April 29th, 2020. That affidavit has been filed with the records of the company.
Tim, is the certified list of shareholders available, and do we have a quorum for the meeting?
Yes. The list of shareholders as of the April 23rd, 2020, record date for this meeting is available for inspection during this meeting by any shareholder via the link on the lower right-hand corner of the website used to access the meeting. Mr. Woods has certified that a quorum is present for the transaction of business at this meeting.
Thank you. We now turn to the three proposals presented for a vote. Each of the proposals is described in detail in the proxy materials, which is also included with the meeting materials at the lower right corner of your screen. The first item of business is the election of directors. Each of the nominees is currently serving as a director of the company. The Board of Directors has recommended that Cheryl W. Grisé, Carlos M. Gutierrez, Gerald L. Hassell, David L. Herzog, Edward J. Kelly III, William E. Kennard, Michel A. Khalaf, Kathleen R. Kinney, Diana L. McKenzie, Denise M. Morrison, Mark A. Weinberger, and I each be elected to serve a term of one year ending at the company's annual meeting next year. The next item of business is the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent auditor for 2020.
The third item of business is the non-binding advisory vote to approve the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers. Although the vote is advisory and the results will not be binding on the compensation committee or the Board, the compensation committee will take into account the outcome of the vote when considering future compensation arrangements. At this time, we'll respond to the questions and comments regarding the proposals. As a reminder, shareholders who are logged in with a control number may submit questions or comments via the text window on the lower left portion of the screen. Are there any questions or comments related to these proposals?
Glenn, we do have one question related to one of the proposals. A shareholder has asked, "Can you please provide a profile of each director nominee?
It's a very important question. The details about each nominee and about the skills the Board looks for in selecting directors are available in the proxy statement that's accessible in your virtual meeting website, which you can see in your lower right-hand corner for each director. Any other questions, Tim?
Glenn, there are no other questions submitted by shareholders at this time related to the proposals under consideration.
Thank you. The polls are about to close, so if you haven't yet voted, please do so. Remember, if you previously submitted a proxy and don't want to change your voting instructions, you do not need to do anything. I now declare the polls closed on June 16th, 2020, at 2:38 P.M. Tim, at this time, would you please present the preliminary report of the proxy vote?
According to the preliminary report of the vote that was provided to me by the Inspector of Election, each director nominee has been elected, the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent auditor for 2020 has been ratified, and the non-binding advisory vote on the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers has been approved. The final vote totals will be included in a Form 8-K that will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days following today's meeting.
Thank you, Tim. This concludes the formal business to be conducted at the shareholder meeting. I now adjourn this formal portion of the shareholder meeting. Before opening the remaining time to questions from shareholders, I would like to introduce Michel Khalaf, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, and invite him to say a few words. Before we begin, I would like to note from the Board's perspective that we very much believe that Michel is a leader for these times at the company in his leadership, his strategy, his forward thinking for customers, for associates, for communities, and of course, our shareholders. Michel?
Thank you, Glenn. Before we go to Q&A, I wanted to highlight how MetLife has responded to COVID-19, which has had a profound effect on all of our stakeholders. The purpose statement we introduced late last year, "Always with you, building a more confident future," has taken on even greater meaning during the pandemic. People are counting on us more than ever to provide the support and financial security they need. For our people, we took action to address their physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Our top priority was rapidly moving to a work-from-home environment, which had benefits both for our employees, who were safer, and for our customers, who received uninterrupted service. Maintaining service levels and paying claims and benefits rapidly was vital for our customers, but we knew we needed to go further and provided enhanced support to help them cope with the disruption to their lives.
For our communities, MetLife Foundation committed $25 million to combat the effects of the pandemic. For our investors, we not only preserved our dividend but increased it. When normally reliable sources of income were faltering, we continued to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in common stock dividends. MetLife entered the current crisis from a position of strength with a robust balance sheet and a product portfolio that is significantly less market-sensitive than in the past. We are confident that our next horizon strategy will not only see us safely through this period of turbulence but allow us to emerge in an even stronger position. I'm so proud of how the team at MetLife has responded to this crisis. This is what we've done throughout our 152-year history, stepped up as a force for good in the world.
On behalf of the entire management team, thank you for entrusting us to run this great company. I'll now turn it back over to Glenn.
Thank you, Michel. I'll now open the remaining time for shareholder questions.
Thank you, Glenn. We do have a question submitted by a shareholder. The question is, "As the Board considers the company's capital position and financial strength and other factors, do you anticipate that there will be a pause in the share repurchase program over the coming months in light of the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic?
The question's an excellent one. The company obviously always considers its capital position and capital allocation in any state of the world. The COVID pandemic has obviously elevated uncertainty for all companies, including MetLife, and a number of considerations, financial and political, weigh into companies' decisions about share repurchases. The Board and management very carefully consider that in all capital decisions. Yes, there will be effects, but the Board and senior management will review those over time. I don't know, Michel, if you'd like to add to that.
No, I think you've captured it, Glenn. I mean, I would just reiterate what we said on the first quarter earnings call, which is that we've hit the pause button when it comes to share repurchases. We feel we have a strong capital position, strong liquidity, cash buffer of $5.3 billion at the end of the first quarter. Having said that, out of an abundance of prudence, we decided that it was appropriate for us to, for the time being, to hit the pause button when it comes to share repurchases.
Glenn, there are no other remaining shareholder questions that have been submitted at this time.
Okay. Thank you, Tim. Importantly, thanks to everyone on the call. Thanks for being shareholders of MetLife. We are very proud of this company, as I'm sure you are. The meeting is now concluded, and thank you very much for joining today's meeting.
This now concludes the meeting. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.