BA International Underwriters, a 100% owned subsidiary of Bank of America, has entered into a joint venture with Lloyd's of London to establish the Pembrace Casualty Insurance Syndicate, expanding Bank of America's ability to offer specialty liability, casualty and reinsurance services.
Pembrace will be capitalized by Bank of America Insurance Group with an initial stamp capacity of GBP33 million. It will write specialty liability and other US-based casualty insurance and reinsurance business to complement Bank of America Insurance Group’s existing US-based insurance operations.
The launch of Pembrace pairs the financial strength of Bank of America with the marketplace presence of Lloyd’s of London to expand and enhance our global insurance strategy, said Keith Pellerin, president of Bank of America Insurance Group. Bank of America Insurance Group has a long history of expertise in underwriting and insurance operations in the US. Pembrace will provide a highly scalable platform to enable future expansion in the insurance markets.
According to the Financial Times, Bank of America is also in talks with US mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp for a possible merger or joint venture.
According to the report, the global banking group may acquire Countrywide or enter into a joint venture to use its branch as part of its network to sell home mortgages originated by Countrywide.