MetLife, the largest US life insurer, will exit the business of originating residential mortgages.

MetLife said most of the 4,300 employees associated with its traditional home mortgage-origination unit will lose their jobs. The insurer will have $90 million to $100 million in costs tied to the departure in the next year, it said.

MetLife said in October it was seeking a buyer for its mortgage unit after announcing plans to sell deposit-gathering operations. The company reached a deal last month to sell about $7.5 billion of deposits to GE.

The Federal Reserve, which oversees MetLife because of its size and banking operations, rejected the insurer’s proposal last year to raise its dividend.

“We continue to move forward with our plans to cease being a bank holding company,” CEO Steve Kandarian said last month. “This is essential to ensure that MetLife operates on a level playing field with other insurance companies.”