General insurance giant Aviva has entered into a bancassurance agreement with Russian retail banking group MDM Bank.

Under the terms of the agreement, Aviva will provide insurance coverage for MDM cardholders, as well as life insurance and savings products as an additional service available to bank customers. The offerings will be available to Russian consumers as of September 1, 2007.

MDM Bank is a large Russian privately-owned financial institution, with a wide distribution network and a broad customer base. Starting from Moscow, MDM Bank will give Aviva access to its network of over 100 branches located in nearly 40 cities across the country.

Andrei Doubinine, CEO of Aviva Russia, said: We are delighted to provide insurance cover for customers of MDM Bank, a well-established and successful business/Aviva is a leading bancassurer world-wide with a first class reputation for implementation, and we transfer our international expertise to Russia. We are confident that our know-how will help us add customer value and build a successful partnership with MDM bank.