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UBA
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED
Like
parents of a newborn child, the UBA Group and Metropolitan
Holdings Limited of South Africa are pleased to announce that
the Strategic Partnership for the transformation of the life
insurance market in Nigeria has now come about. This momentous
occasion was recently concluded with the signing of the
shareholders agreement giving effect to the partnership.
The 50/50
joint venture has utilised HEIRS Life Assurance, the
wholly-owned subsidiary of UBA Insurance, to create the new life
company, UBA Metropolitan Life Insurance Limited with its
Corporate Offices on Victoria Island in Lagos.
UBA and
Metropolitan have already recapitalised HEIRS Life to the tune
of N2billion in conformity with the recapitalisation guidelines
issued by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
UBA
Metropolitan Life will introduce new life insurance products
into the Nigerian market to bridge current supply gaps, and to
capture opportunities opened by the new pension legislation for
insurance specifically in the area of group life and annuity
business.
The
partners will further invest in UBA Metropolitan Life to enable
it assert market leadership and consequently enhance its
competitive position in the Nigerian life insurance market. UBA
Metropolitan Life has been configured to play a leading role in
the reform, transformation, redefinition and repositioning of
the local life industry.
The
combination of Metropolitan’s legendary experience and the UBA
Group's extensive distribution channels is unparalleled and UBA
Metropolitan Life is therefore ideally positioned to add a
wealth of new dimensions to the local industry.
The
partners are excited about the potential of this union in
setting the standards of best practice and redefining the
landscape of the Nigerian
insurance market.
“Given
this proud heritage, I have every confidence that the combined
forces of local market intelligence, existing infrastructure and
networks plus foreign knowledge and skills transferred from
Metropolitan South Africa will ensure success for all the
stakeholders of UBA Metropolitan Life,” says Tony Elumelu, Group
Managing Director of UBA.
“UBA
Metropolitan Life shares Metropolitan South Africa’s vision –
to create prosperity for Africa’s people - and will be
making it its mission to provide financial solutions that add
maximum value for policyholders by achieving both growth and
security. I also believe that this joint venture will be a major
contributor to the financial well-being of Nigeria and Nigerians
with immediate effect,” says
Peter Doyle, Metropolitan’s Group Chief Executive.
This is
yet another positive indication of the benefits that have been
accruing and should continue to accrue to the Nigerian Economy
as a result of the Federal Government's on-going
economic reform agenda.
About
Metropolitan
Metropolitan, one of the top players in the South African
life insurance Industry, is a well-established (founded
in 1898) and truly African company, with existing operations in
Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius and Namibia in
addition to South Africa. It is a diversified financial services
group providing, amongst other products and services, insurance,
pension fund, health administration and investment solutions to
many corporate and millions of individual clients in Africa.
About UBA
Today's
UBA is the result of the first successful merger transaction
in the history of the Nigerian Financial Services
Sector. It is the largest financial services provider
in Nigeria, with more than 648 offices serving
a retail customer base of over five million countrywide,
and the West African sub-region by balance sheet size,
deposit base and customer accounts.
UBA listed
on the Nigeria Stock Exchange as long ago as 1970 while
Metropolitan has been a member of the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange since 1986. From both a policyholder and a shareholder
perspective, their pooled resources – both financial and
intellectual - are truly formidable.
UBA's aspiration is to be the dominant
financial services group in Nigeria and the African sub-region,
and is committed to providing financial solutions that make life
easier for all Nigerians.
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