Alright, let's get this straight. New York Life, the "oldest" and "largest" mutual life insurer – yeah, yeah, we get it – is throwing another $750 million at Affirm? What in the actual hell is going on? Are they trying to buy street cred with the Gen Z crowd or something?
Affirm: Savior or Sinking Ship?
Affirm, for those blissfully unaware, is that "buy now, pay later" service that lets you finance everything from sneakers to, I don't know, maybe even life insurance someday? Irony, anyone? They're painting this as some kind of "long-term capital partnership" to "increase access to flexible and transparent payment options."
Transparent? Give me a break. It's debt, people. Debt with extra steps.
And New York Life is eating it up. They're patting themselves on the back, saying Affirm has "superior credit outcomes that generate attractive returns." Attractive for who, exactly? The shareholders? Because I'm pretty sure the average consumer racking up BNPL debt ain't exactly living the high life.
I mean, let's be real, New York Life is basically betting that people will keep buying crap they can't afford. Is that really a sound financial strategy? Or is it just preying on desperation disguised as "convenience"?
The press release is full of this fluffy language. "Empowering consumers," "responsible and transparent way to pay"...it's enough to make you gag.
"Affirm has saved consumers over $460 million in late fees," they brag. Okay, great. But how much have they made in interest? I'm betting it's a hell of a lot more than $460 million.
Is New York Life Losing Its Mind?
Here's the part that really gets my goat. New York Life isn't some fly-by-night tech startup. They're supposed to be the picture of stability, the bedrock of financial security. So why are they chasing after the latest trendy fintech thing?
Are traditional insurance policies not cutting it anymore? Is the Grim Reaper not bringing in enough business?
According to that LIMRA study, young adults are more interested in "lower premiums, benefits and services that they can access within their lifetime." Okay, boomer... maybe that's because they can't afford to wait until they're dead to see some friggin' value.
They already invested nearly $2 billion in Affirm collateral. Now they are adding another $750M for a total of $2.75B? That is a lot of faith in a company that is basically hoping people stay in debt.
The article also mentions Howard Grosfield joining New York Life’s board. He's a bigwig at American Express. So, what, they're just swapping executives and sharing bad ideas now? It's like a corporate circle jerk of financial irresponsibility. You can read more about the appointment in New York Life Appoints Howard Grosfield to Board of Directors.
Then again, maybe I'm just an old cynic yelling at clouds. Maybe this is the future of finance. Maybe everyone will be paying for their groceries in installments by 2030.
Offcourse, the cookie tracking notice from NBCUniversal is also comforting. Atleast they are transparent about tracking us, and selling our data.
But I still don't like it. It feels like a house of cards built on consumer debt, and I'm not sure I want my life insurance company playing that game.