Aviva announces new bancassurance joint venture in Spain with Cajamurcia
Aviva, has entered into a long term bancassurance partnership with Spanish savings bank, Caja de Ahorros de Murcia (Cajamurcia). It’s hoped this new partnership will enhance Aviva's leadership position in the Spanish life market where it has ranked in the top three in terms of gross written premiums for the last five years.
Cajamurcia will provide exclusive access to its network of 413 branches to Cajamurcia Vida y Pensiones SA (Cajamurcia Vida), the newly created life insurance company jointly owned by Aviva and Cajamurcia, to sell life insurance and pension products. Aviva will have management control over Cajamurcia Vida and will consolidate its business at a group level.
The consideration will be €112.5m (£76m) in cash. Further consideration may be payable up to a maximum of an additional €275m dependent on the performance of the partnership.
The Cajamurcia network and customer base will bring Aviva's total bancassurance network to more than 4,600 branches, providing access to more than 10m potential customers, thus strengthening its position as the second largest banking distribution network in Spain. The bancassurance channel accounted for over 72% of 2006 new business premiums in the Spanish life market.
Tidjane Thiam, group executive director, Aviva Europe, said: "Our partnership with Cajamurcia will further strengthen Aviva's position in Spanish bancassurance. Aviva's expertise, both internationally and in Spain, combined with Cajamurcia's distribution capabilities present an excellent opportunity to realise value for all stakeholders.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
