Canadian Halal Investor.

NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026

Is Corebridge Financial, Inc. (CRBG) Halal?

FAIL

Corebridge Financial, Inc. · NYSE: CRBG · Financials

The short answer

Corebridge Financial fails all three Shariah gates: it is a conventional life insurer whose 10-K describes fixed annuities paying 'a specified rate of return' and guaranteed investment contracts paying fixed interest (business gate fails); it carries $9.36 billion of corporate debt (62.2% of its ~$15.05 billion market cap, over the 33% ceiling); and net investment income of $13.12 billion is 71.0% of revenue (over the 5% ceiling). A merger with Equitable Holdings is expected to retire the CRBG ticker by year-end 2026.

Gate 1 — Business activity: FAIL

Gate 1 — business activity: FAIL. Corebridge Financial, Inc., spun out of AIG with its IPO in September 2022, is one of the largest providers of retirement solutions and insurance products in the United States. Per its FY2025 Form 10-K (Item 1, Business), it reports four segments — Individual Retirement (fixed, fixed-index and registered index-linked annuities; 52% of 2025 adjusted operating earnings), Group Retirement (401(k)/403(b) plans with fixed-interest accounts; 20%), Life Insurance (term, indexed universal life and whole life; 12%) and Institutional Markets (pension risk transfer, guaranteed investment contracts; 16%) — and collected $20.6 billion of individual annuity premiums and deposits in 2025.

The products are interest-based by the company's own description: fixed annuities 'offer principal protection and a specified rate of return,' the company earns 'spread-based income on the difference between the investment income earned on the assets backing the policy' and 'the interest credited to the policyholder,' and guaranteed investment contracts provide 'a guaranteed repayment of principal and a fixed or floating interest rate.' In FY2025 the company credited $5,933 million of interest to policyholder account balances, and spread income of about $3.9 billion dwarfed fee income of about $1.2 billion. Conventional life insurance and fixed annuities involve interest (riba) and contractual uncertainty (gharar) at their core — the business fails gate 1, and no business-line mix adjustment can cure it.

Material pending event: an all-stock merger with Equitable Holdings announced March 26, 2026 was approved by both shareholder groups on July 30, 2026 and is expected to close by year-end 2026, with CRBG shares converting 1-for-1 into Equitable Holdings shares (NYSE: EQH) — the CRBG ticker is expected to disappear at closing.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: FAIL

Gate 2 — interest-bearing debt: FAIL (62.2%, ceiling 33%). Per Corebridge's FY2025 Form 10-K (filed February 2026), corporate 'Short-term and long-term debt' at December 31, 2025 was $9,359 million: senior unsecured notes of $6,750 million (3.65%–6.05%, due 2027–2052), hybrid junior subordinated notes of $2,350 million (6.375%–6.875%, due 2052–2064), plus $99 million of CRBGLH notes and $227 million of junior subordinated debentures (Note 15). Policyholder liabilities, future policy benefits, separate account liabilities and operating leases are excluded — those are insurance obligations, not borrowings; $1,547 million of debt of consolidated investment entities not guaranteed by Corebridge is also excluded.

$9.36 billion of interest-bearing debt against a market capitalization of about $15.05 billion (Finnhub, October 2, 2026) is 62.2%, well above the 33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $447 million at December 31, 2025 represent about 3.0% of market cap.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: FAIL

Gate 3 — non-compliant income: FAIL (71.0%, ceiling 5%). Corebridge does not disclose a separate consolidated 'interest income' line — the 10-K states that 'interest income and dividend income... are recognized and included in Net investment income.' Net investment income is therefore the reportable figure, and it is overwhelmingly interest-type: the MD&A defines base portfolio income as including 'interest, dividends and foreclosed real estate income.' FY2025 net investment income was $13,124 million against FY2025 total revenue of $18,481 million — about 71.0%, far above the 5% ceiling.

For a conventional insurer this is not incidental interest on cash balances — it is the core of the business model: the spread between investment income earned on general-account assets and interest credited to policyholders is how the company profits. (The only standalone 'Interest income' line in the filing, $64 million in FY2025, is in the parent-company-only condensed statements, not the consolidated accounts.)

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does Corebridge Financial do?

Corebridge Financial, Inc. (NYSE: CRBG) is one of the largest providers of retirement solutions and insurance products in the United States, spun out of AIG with its IPO in September 2022. Per its FY2025 Form 10-K it reports four segments: Individual Retirement (annuities - 52% of 2025 operating earnings), Group Retirement (401(k)/403(b) plans - 20%), Life Insurance (12%) and Institutional Markets (pension risk transfer, guaranteed investment contracts - 16%). In 2025 it collected $20.6 billion of individual annuity premiums and deposits. Material pending event: an all-stock merger with Equitable Holdings announced March 26, 2026 was approved by both shareholder groups on July 30, 2026 and is expected to close by year-end 2026, with CRBG shares converting 1-for-1 into Equitable Holdings shares (EQH) - the CRBG ticker is expected to disappear at closing.

Is Corebridge Financial's business Shariah compliant?

No. Corebridge is a conventional life insurer whose core products are interest-based by the company's own description. Its 10-K states that fixed annuities 'offer principal protection and a specified rate of return,' that the company earns 'spread-based income on the difference between the investment income earned on the assets backing the policy' and 'the interest credited to the policyholder,' and that its guaranteed investment contracts provide 'a guaranteed repayment of principal and a fixed or floating interest rate.' Whole life and indexed universal life products accumulate cash value at crediting rates set by the company. In FY2025 the company credited $5,933 million of interest to policyholder account balances, and spread income of about $3.9 billion dwarfed fee income of about $1.2 billion. Conventional insurance and fixed annuities involve interest (riba) and contractual uncertainty (gharar) at their core - the business fails this screener's first gate, and no business-line mix adjustment can cure it.

How much interest-bearing debt does Corebridge Financial have?

Corebridge's FY2025 Form 10-K discloses corporate 'Short-term and long-term debt' of $9,359 million at December 31, 2025: senior unsecured notes of $6,750 million, hybrid junior subordinated notes of $2,350 million, plus $99 million of CRBGLH notes and $227 million of junior subordinated debentures (Note 15). Policyholder liabilities, future policy benefits, separate account liabilities and operating leases are excluded - those are insurance obligations, not borrowings; $1,547 million of debt of consolidated investment entities not guaranteed by Corebridge is also excluded. $9.36 billion against a market cap of about $15.05 billion is 62.2%, well above the 33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $447 million at December 31, 2025 represent about 3.0% of market cap (short-term investments of $5,675 million are a separate line).

How much interest income does Corebridge Financial earn?

Corebridge does not disclose a separate consolidated 'interest income' line - the 10-K states that 'interest income and dividend income... are recognized and included in Net investment income.' Net investment income is the reportable figure and it is overwhelmingly interest-type: the MD&A defines base portfolio income as including 'interest, dividends and foreclosed real estate income.' FY2025 net investment income was $13,124 million against FY2025 total revenue of $18,481 million - about 71.0%, far above the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. For a conventional insurer, investment income is not incidental interest on cash; it is the core of the business model - the spread between investment income earned and interest credited to policyholders is how the company profits.

What do third-party Shariah screeners say about Corebridge Financial?

Zoya publishes a CRBG page and currently rates the stock as not Shariah-compliant, matching this page's finding - though its page carries template artifacts (an empty compliance-date field and FAQ text claiming FY2025 revenue and interest income both equal $2,889,000,000, which is directly contradicted by the 10-K's $18,481 million of revenue and $13,124 million of net investment income), so treat its quoted ratio details with caution. I could not verify a Musaffa rating page for CRBG (its CRBG URL returns a 404) or a ShariaPortfolio rating from public sources. Third-party screeners apply different assumptions and update on different schedules - always check the latest screening before investing.

Sources

Screened 2026-10-02 from published company figures and market data. Figures change; this page is educational, not financial advice and not a religious ruling.

Screened with our two-gate Shariah screening methodology (business-activity gate, then AAOIFI-style financial ratios).