Philippine National Bank (PNB) has sold its 51-percent stake in life insurer PNB Life to Munich-based Allianz S.E. to form a joint venture called Allianz PNB Life Insurance Inc.
The pact is a 15-year bancassurance agreement with Allianz, one of the strongest financial services company offering
property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance, as well as asset management.
Under the terms of the agreement, Allianz acquired 51 percent and management control of PNB Life, the 10th-largest life insurance company in the Philippines.
Allianz Asia Pacific CEO George Sartorel said the transaction allows the insurer to penetrate the local bancassurance market with an established distribution network.
“The Philippines is a very fast-growing insurance market supported by a healthy economic outlook and a large, young population of over 100 million people,” Sartorel said.
Allianz now has exclusive access to more than 660 PNB branches and 4 million customers.
PNB President Reynaldo A. Maclang said the venture will allow them to offer world-class protection products and services that cater to the diverse needs of their customers.
“PNB has always provided innovative care to the Filipinos. Allianz will bring in a lot of experience, technology and new ideas that will benefit our customers and the Philippine market,” Maclang said.
“The strong interest we drew from Allianz and other candidates was a welcome validation of the successful turnaround of PNB Life that we started six years ago,” PNB Life President Esther C. Tan said.
“We have grown from borderline relevance to a top 10 player and a major profit engine for PNB and the Lucio Tan Group as a whole. This transaction is the next big step toward our vision to be a leading provider of financial security to Filipinos worldwide,” Tan said.