FWD Group will soon sell its bancassurance contract with Thailand’s TMB Bank to Prudential Life Assurance, media reports said. The deal involving FWD, TMB, and Prudential is worth $630 million and will be completed by the end of the year.
According to media reports, Prudential Life Assurance’s Thai unit will acquire the FWD’s exclusive rights to sell life insurance products using TMB Bank’s platform. The initial term of the partnership is 15 years. Prudential will make the payment in two installments.
Last year, FWD acquired SCB Life subsequently followed by the signing of a 15-year bancassurance partnership with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB). SCB is Thailand’s largest commercial bank.
Under the terms of the agreement, FWD will receive 20 billion baht for the TMB contract. The contract sale would benefit FWD in terms of easing potential antitrust concerns, especially after it agreed to pay $3 billion for operations of SCB life insurance as part of its acquisition.
FWD said in a statement that the remaining term of FWD’s bancassurance contract will be entirely transferred to Prudential Thailand during a nine-month transition period. This transition period will begin on April 1 and remain until December 31.
FWD Group CEO Huynh Thanh Phong, told the media that, “I’d like to thank TMB for their professionalism and long-term support during our collaboration over the past few years. This agreement benefits all parties and, most importantly, means our TMB customers will continue to receive their protection, benefits and customer servicing in accordance with the terms of their FWD policies.”
In 2017, TMB Bank and FWD renewed the contract to sell FWD products to the bank’s distribution network for 15 years, media reports said. In recent years, FWD has strengthened its insurance presence across Asia.