Genworth Fails To Qualify For TARP, Shares Plunge

Life insurer Genworth Financial dropped 22% after the Office of Thrift and Supervision said it had declined the company's application to become a savings and loan holding company. As the insurance company had previously lost access to the CPFF commercial paper program subsequent a rating agency downgrade, the loss of the TARP option could be a terminal development: CEO Michael Frazier had said: "The TARP application was one of the strategic levers Genworth has considered to provide another level of capital flexibility to address unforeseen events, and the nature of that program has continued to evolve."

In other news, Chevron also dropped in after hour trading after the company announced it expects first quarter earnings would be "sharply lower" than fourth quarter.