UOB renews regional bancassurance alliance with Prudential for 15 years

UNITED Overseas Bank has renewed its regional bancassurance arrangement with Prudential for 15 years. Prudential will pay the lender a fee of S$1.15 billion over this period.

The new pact extends the original alliance, which runs from 2010 to 2034, and will include Vietnam as a fifth market.

Under the arrangement, UOB will distribute Prudential's life insurance products to its consumer banking customer base in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and group chief executive officer of UOB, said the renewed agreement reflects the long-term approach and success of this partnership.

Group chief executive of Prudential Mike Wells said: "We have built a highly effective bancassurance partnership with our colleagues at UOB that has driven double-digit annual sales and new business profit growth since 2010."

"We believe there is a significant opportunity for future growth in South-east Asia and the renewal reflects our commitment to using our capabilities to benefit our customers and shareholders."

As at 1.31pm on Thursday, UOB shares traded up 24 Singapore cents from its opening at S$25.72