BDO sells Pelac stake

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) has bought five percent stake in Philam Equitable Life Assurance Corp. (Pelac) from Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) last month.

Pelac was the bancassurance joint venture between Philam Life and Equitable PCI Bank (EPCIB). When BDO acquired EPCIB, the five percent ownership stake that EPCIB had in Pelac was transferred to BDO.

Philam Life and BDO’s bancassurance agreement expired last year and the two companies mutually decided to cease their partnership a year earlier. Bancassurance is a channel to sell insurance products through bank branches.

Pelac policyholders will continue to be serviced in all Philam Life branches nationwide.

Philam Life continues to strengthen its bancassurance arm through a joint venture forged with Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) in Nov. 27, 2009.

Through the joint venture, Philam Life acquired a majority stake (51 percent) in Ayala Life Assurance Inc. (Ayala Life). Ayala Life has since been renamed as BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp. (BPI-Philam).

Through the joint venture BPI-Philam, Philam Life gains exclusive access to BPI’s extensive branch network of more than 800 branches and 1,500 ATMs serving over three million customers nationwide.