After qualifying for $3.4 billion in U.S. bailout cash last weekfrom the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, TheHartford said it will not be selling its property-casualty, groupbenefits or life insurance businesses.

After The Hartford reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.2billion, UBS Investment Research earlier this month suggested thatif the financial services conglomerate was looking to raisecapital, it could probably sell off its p-c operations for $9billion–with the caveat that a sale was unlikely to be pursued ifgovernment bailout money could be obtained.

In a statement, Hartford Chief Executive Officer Ramani Ayertold stakeholders that the firm is taking steps to restructure itsglobal annuity business and is exploring options for itsinstitutional markets group.

Explaining its moves, the message noted that The Hartford inrecent months has “experienced a great deal of public speculationabout our company and our future direction.”

Mr. Ayer acknowledged that “recent overall financial performancehas been disappointing, and the difficult economic environment hasplaced significant pressures on some of our businesses.”

The statement added that “while many of our underlyingoperations are performing well, The Hartford was more affected bythe market volatility than some of our peers, given the issues inour investment portfolio and the size of our variable annuitiesbusinesses.”

The insurer said its board and senior management has done anin-depth evaluation of The Hartford's business model and strategy,“with the goals of building shareholder value, reducing risk andpreserving capital. The analysis covered a wide range of optionsrelated to our businesses individually and in combination, andfocused on required capital, the risks involved, and historical andprospective performance.”

The Hartford noted that as a result of its fiscal analysis ithad, among other steps:

o Secured a $2.5 billion investment from Allianz.

o Cut its commons stock dividend.

o Commenced unwinding higher-risk exposures in its investmentportfolio, while reducing expenses.

“We have concluded that the best way to deliver long-term valueto our shareholders is to return to our historical strengths as aU.S.-centric insurance company, with a focus on our strongportfolio of protection businesses…,” wrote Mr. Ayer.

“Although this has been an incredibly challenging period in ourcompany's history, The Hartford has demonstrated strength andresiliency in the marketplace. We have grown new business premiumsin several of our P&C lines while maintaining excellentunderwriting results,” he said.

Mr. Ayer added that the company has also “grown premiums ingroup benefits and our retirement plans,” while “mutual fundsbusinesses have delivered solid deposits in this difficultenvironment.”

He said he is “optimistic about our future, and knows that TheHartford has the people, the commitment and the drive to deliver onour promises to our customers.”

WOLIN CONFIRMED

In other news, Neal Wolin, a former top official at TheHartford, was confirmed by the Senate as deputy secretary of theTreasury–which administers the TARP program that is providingemergency funding to his former employer.

Mr. Wolin worked at The Hartford from 2001 to 2008, resigning tojoin the White House in December. His last post at The Hartford wasas president and chief operating officer for property-casualtyoperations. He also served as general counsel.

Mr. Wolin was also general counsel at the Treasury from 1999 toJanuary 2001. He was nominated to be deputy secretary of theTreasury in March after serving several months in the White Houseas a deputy counsel focusing on economic policy.

“I am thrilled to have Neal return to the department,” saidTreasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “Neal brings a deep knowledgeof the Treasury Department and strong managerial experience in boththe private and public sectors, and I look forward to workingclosely with Neal at this critical moment in our nation'shistory.”