Allied Bank seals purchase of insurance firm

Tobacco magnate Lucio Tan’s Allied Banking Corp. on Tuesday disclosed that it has signed a definitive agreement sealing its acquisition of New York Life Insurance Phils., and solidifying its foray into bancassurance. Allied Bank told the Philippine Stock Exchange that the purchase was done through a share purchase agreement where it raised its stake in New York Life to 75 percent from 25 percent. In an earlier disclosure, Allied Bank said it paid P116.7 million for the additional 50 percent stake which it bought from New York Life International LLC. The transaction is expected to close by July 31. The lender also disclosed that the remaining 25 percent of the insurance firm is owned by Allied Bank shareholders including Lucio Tan. “This is a very positive development for Allied Bank and our policyholders. We saw an opportunity to build upon our successful bancassurance channel and extend our reach throughout the Philippine life insurance market," Allied Bank president Atty. Reynaldo Maclang said in a statement. Bancassurance is the selling of life insurance through established banking channels, in effect a merger of the banking and insurance industries. - GMANews.TV