Bancassurance agreement expanded in Asia
Prudential plc and Standard Chartered plc have announced that they have entered into a new agreement expanding the term and geographic scope of their strategic pan-Asian bancassurance partnership. The new 15-year agreement, which covers 11 markets and will commence on 1 July 2014, deepens a relationship that was first established in 1998, and has become the ‘most successful and enduring pan-regional bancassurance partnership in Asia’, according to the companies.
Under the terms of the new agreement, a wide range of Prudential's life insurance products will be exclusively distributed through Standard Chartered branches in nine markets — Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India and Taiwan — subject to applicable regulations in each country. In China and South Korea, Standard Chartered will distribute Prudential's life insurance products on a preferred basis.
As part of the intent to deepen the strategic bancassurance partnership further, Prudential and Standard Chartered have also agreed to explore additional opportunities to collaborate, in due course, elsewhere in Asia and in Africa, subject to existing exclusivity arrangements and regulatory restrictions.
Tidjane Thiam, group CEO of Prudential plc, said: “Our partnership with Standard Chartered has delivered substantial benefits to both companies’ customers and shareholders over the last 15 years. The business we have built together has achieved significant growth, delivering compound annual sales growth of 19 per cent over the last decade. Our teams know and respect each other and work well together. That is why we are confident that we will continue to provide valuable products and services to millions of consumers across Asia, generating significant value for our shareholders in doing so.”