Despite a second consecutive billion-dollar-plus quarterly loss, Manulife Financial’s new chief executive said it has "an unparalleled opportunity over the next five years to be the consolidator, taking advantage of the current disorder amongst financial institutions worldwide."

Manulife intends to expand its product offerings and extend its geographic reach into Europe, India, South Korea or other parts of the world, Donald Guloien told shareholders as he took over as CEO from the retiring Dominic D'Alessandro.

Guloien, a 28-year Manulife veteran who previously was chief investment officer, spoke after the company posted a first-quarter net loss of nearly $1.1 billion, ravaged by financial-market declines.

The first quarter net loss of $1.07 billion, down from a year-ago profit of $869 million was primarily driven by continued declines across all equity markets, particularly in the U.S., Manulife said.

Reserve strengthening to cover long-term segregated fund and annuity guarantees led to in a charge of $1.15 billion. There also were $121 million in credit writedowns, $277 million in reductions of commercial real estate valuations, $255 million of equity-related charges and $72 million related to credit downgrades.

Excluding these items, Manulife said it would have earned $803 million, and its ratio of capital to the regulatory minimum was 228 per cent at March 31, up from 198 per cent a year ago.

The first-quarter loss followed a fourth-quarter loss of $1.87 billion, driven down by similar financial-market factors.