Following the completion of the acquisition, a long-term life bancassurance partnership between FWD Group and Siam Commercial Bank has come into effect
Image: Signing of the deal between FWD Group and Siam Commercial Bank. Photo: courtesy of The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited.
Pan-Asian life insurer FWD Group has completed its THB92.7bn (£2.47bn) acquisition of SCB Life Assurance from Thailand-based Siam Commercial Bank (SCB).
A share sale agreement pertaining to the life assurance business was signed in July 2019. The life assurance company, which was formed in 1976, began operations under the name Mahanakorn Life Insurance.
In 2011, Mahanakorn Life Insurance was acquired by Siam Commercial Bank from New York Life International (NYLI) and PMCC (Thailand) and was renamed as SCB Life Assurance Public Company.
Following its acquisition by the Hong Kong-based FWD Group, the company will be renamed and rebranded as SCB Life, which will be subject to regulatory approval.
FWD Group CEO Huynh Thanh Phong said: “The completion of this transaction is the climax of months of hard work and dedication and I’m thrilled that we can finally begin this new exciting chapter of our journey in Thailand.
“I’d like to personally welcome all the staff, agents and customers of SCB Life to FWD and look forward to working together with SCB to grow our business, bring fresh and positive experiences to our customers and ultimately change the way people feel about insurance.”
According to FWD Group, SCB Life customers will not be impacted by the transfer of ownership and will continue to get protection, benefits and customer services as per the terms of their policies. All the existing SCB Life policies will continue to be honoured, said the life insurance group.
Bancassurance partnership between FWD Group and Siam Commercial Bank
A long-term life bancassurance partnership between FWD Group and Siam Commercial Bank has come into effect following the closing of the deal. As part of that, Siam Commercial Bank will receive payments resulting from transactions emerging from the partnership.
As per the terms of the bancassurance agreement, Siam Commercial Bank will distribute the life insurance products of FWD to its customers in Thailand by using its distribution channels for a period of 15 years.
The partnership is said to combine the Thai bank’s huge customer base and distribution network with FWD Group’s innovative product propositions and digital capabilities to provide superior life insurance products and improved digital experiences to customers.
Siam Commercial Bank CEO and executive committee chairman Arthid Nanthawithaya said: “With our shared ambition and commitment, we have full confidence that the partnership will deliver the best value for our customers, shareholders, employees, and other key stakeholders.
“We both aim to bring market-leading products and enhanced digital experiences to our customers and combine the strengths of SCB and FWD to take our bancassurance business to the next level.”