Southeast Asia is a region in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia
Singapore\sMalaysia
Vietnam\sThailand
Philippines
Myanmar
India
Greater China is a term used to describe a
Asia’s rest
World
Internet Economy & E-Commerce
Technology
Infrastructure and Real Estate
Services in the Financial Sector
Infrastructure for Social Development
Fidelity Life will buy Westpac’s New Zealand life insurance subsidiary for $281 million.
Pedestrians with umbrellas walk past a Westpac Banking Corp branch in central Sydney, Australia, on March 30, 2017. David Gray/REUTERS/File Photo
Reuters, 6 July 2021
The firms announced on Tuesday that Westpac Banking Corp will sell its New Zealand life insurance business to Fidelity Life for NZ$400 million ($280.84 million).
The unit is the latest asset to be sold by Australia’s second-largest bank in the last year as it focuses on its core banking operations in the wake of a series of scandals that have increased regulatory scrutiny.
In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Peter King remarked, “This transaction is the next step in simplifying our organization.”
After it is completed by the end of the year, Westpac anticipates the transaction to contribute 7 basis points to its common equity tier 1 capital and result in a post-tax gain.
As of the end of March, Westpac Life New Zealand had annual in-force premiums of NZ$149 million, according to the company.
Fidelity, New Zealand’s largest locally-owned life insurance, said the majority of the acquisition will be backed by NZ Super Fund and Te Rnanga o Ngi Tahu’s investment arm, which bought a 24.9 percent stake for NZ$140 million on Tuesday.
Fidelity will offer life insurance products to Westpac customers under a 15-year distribution agreement, according to the firms.
Reuters
Westpac
Every day, you’ll receive articles like these in your email.
Sign up for The Daily Brief, our daily newsletter.
Register for the Newsletter
Related Articles
Deals with Australia’s Westpac to keep New Zealand business, and the demerger proposal is scrapped.
Westpac’s New Zealand unit accounts for roughly 10% of the bank’s earnings and credit exposure.
Deals
Westpac sells its general insurance division to Allianz for $535 million.
The transaction will strengthen Allianz’s position in Australia’s general insurance sector.
Westpac, Australia’s largest bank, is selling its interest in Zip, a buy-now-pay-later company.
The bank wants to reduce its portfolio and strengthen its capital position.
Westpac, an Australian lender, is selling a 9.5 percent interest in Pendal for $128 million.
The sale completes Westpac’s withdrawal, which began in 2017 with the selling of a portion of its then-29 percent ownership.
To continue reading our free content, create an account.
If you don’t want to get The Daily Brief in your inbox every day, unsubscribe.
REGISTER
Do you already have a login? Here is where you may log in./n
Read More
