Barclays buys insurer Standard Life for £226 million
Barclays bought the bank arm of insurer Standard Life for 226 million pounds on Monday to build up its mortgage and savings business. The country’s second-biggest bank said Standard Life Bank would bring with it 78,000 mortgages and 8.8 billion pounds of outstanding balances, and a savings book of about 5.5 billion pounds in 287,000 accounts. The deal will add about 10 percent to Barclays’ mortgage loan book, which stood at 84.4 billion pounds at the end of June, and 6 percent to its deposit balance of 88.5 billion. About 270 Standard... Lire la suite
Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA is considering selling, listing or finding a partner for its insurance unit according to a financial source said on Friday, and a newspaper put its value at more than 3 billion euros ($4.37 billion). The move would be part of ongoing efforts by Italy’s biggest retail bank to boost capital. It turned its back on the state’s offer of crisis-fighting aid on Tuesday and issued a 1.5 billion euro Tier 1 hybrid bond to bolster capital ratios. “The insurance group is part of the list of assets that could... Lire la suite
Further to its announcement dated 21 June 2009, Aviva has today completed the sale of Aviva Australia Holdings Ltd, its Australian life and pensions business and wealth management platform (“Aviva Australia”), to National Australia Bank (“NAB”). The proceeds are expected to be A$925 million (£452 million), comprising A$825 million cash consideration received from NAB, A$40 million representing a dividend received from Aviva Australia, and a forecast amount of A$60 million representing a net asset adjustment to be paid post completion. The... Lire la suite
Fortis and BNP Paribas Assurance to buy 50% of Italian insurer: UBI Assicurazioni
Fortis and BNP Paribas Assurance acquire a majority stake in UBI Assicurazioni, one of the leading non-life bancassurance players in Italy. UBI Assicurazioni enters into a long term exclusive distribution agreement with UBI Banca, a Top 5 Italian bank. Fortis and BNP Paribas Assurance announce the acquisition of 50% + 1 share of UBI Assicurazioni, a market leader in property and casualty bancassurance in Italy. The transaction will be executed through a holding company (F&B Insurance Holdings), which will be held by Fortis (50% + 1 share) and... Lire la suite
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) announced today that Nippon Life Insurance Company, one of the world’s largest life insurance companies, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a $500 million 10-year exchangeable surplus note issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The transaction, which is subject to customary conditions, is expected to close on September 18, 2009. Under the terms of the transaction, Nippon Life can exchange the surplus note for shares of Prudential Financial common stock at any time, at Nippon Life’s... Lire la suite
