VietinBank and Manulife announce Exclusive 16-year Bancassurance Partnership

Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and Manulife Financial Corporation (Manulife) have announced that an agreement has been signed between VietinBank and Manulife (Vietnam) Limited to establish an exclusive 16-year bancassurance partnership to better meet the growing financial and insurance needs of the Vietnamese people.

Manulife Vietnam will be the exclusive provider of bancassurance solutions to VietinBank customers in Vietnam soon after regulatory approval is obtained, the firms revealed in a press release.

This partnership will help to grow and further protect the health and wealth of Vietnamese individuals, families and businesses by offering best-in-class insurance, wealth and retirement solutions. As part of the transaction, Manulife Financial Asia Limited will also acquire Aviva Vietnam Limited (Aviva Vietnam). The acquisition of Aviva Vietnam will be subject to regulatory approvals. Manulife expects the partnership to be accretive to diluted core earnings per common share in 2022 and the impact on the LICAT ratio is expected to be less than 1%.

Manulife Vietnam is currently Vietnam's number one life insurer by 2019 annual premium equivalent (APE) sales, reports the firm in the press release. Having entered Vietnam in 1999 as the first foreign-owned insurer to be granted a license, it now has around 1,000 permanent staff and over 50,000 contracted agents, serving more than one million customers. This new partnership with VietinBank will significantly grow Manulife Vietnam's distribution capabilities across the country and strengthen Manulife Vietnams's market leading position in Vietnam.

VietinBank is one of Vietnam's largest financial institutions, serving more than 14 million customers through a network of over 150 branches and 1,000 transaction offices across 63 cities and provinces in the country. In the first half of 2020, VietinBank was ranked number one in terms of bancassurance sales among state-owned banks in Vietnam. VietinBank began its transformation journey in 2014, advancing its digital capabilities, increasing its investment in human resources, and enhancing its customer-centric solutions to be the leading bank in the country. The bank's strategy in the coming years is focused on diversifying its businesses, including growing its retail banking business and offering more tailored solutions for its customers.

Lê Đức Thọ, Chairman, VietinBank, said: “VietinBank and Manulife Vietnam have strengths and ambitions that complement each other – in particular, our strong shared focus on providing customer-centric financial products, services and solutions to Vietnamese individuals, families and businesses. The signing of the agreement is an important milestone that marks our cooperation with Manulife Vietnam. We believe that the relationship between VietinBank and Manulife Vietnam will grow strongly as we progress towards our vision of being the leading and most reputable bank in Vietnam, providing the most comprehensive and effective financial solutions to our customers.”

Roy Gori, President and CEO, Manulife, said: “We are extremely pleased to enter into partnership with VietinBank, Vietnam's leading bank. We share an ambition to accelerate digital transformation to make lives better for millions of people across Vietnam. This partnership increases our market share leadership in Vietnam and capitalizes on our strong position as one of the leading international life insurers in Asia, further progressing our growth trajectory in the region.”

Anil Wadhwani, President and CEO, Asia, Manulife, said: “We are very excited to expand our ability to support improved health and retirement outcomes for a rising, more digitally enabled population in Vietnam through this partnership. Vietnam is one of the region's greatest economic success stories. Partnering with VietinBank means that we have even more opportunities to address the health, protection, savings and investment needs of customers in Vietnam and to make the lives of millions more Vietnamese every day better.”

Manulife Vietnam will work closely with VietinBank to design and offer a full suite of insurance, wealth and retirement products that serve the needs of all key customer groups in Vietnam. These products will be distributed through a professional and well-trained sales force supported by the latest digital tools and processes.