ING-Backed Thai Bank Hires JPMorgan for Partnership Review

(Bloomberg) -- TMB Bank Pcl, a Thai lender backed by ING Groep NV, is exploring options for its existing bancassurance partnerships following recent consolidation in Thailand’s banking and insurance industry, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

TMB hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to carry out a strategic review on its life insurance cooperation with billionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group Ltd., the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. A new bancassurance partnership could be valued at about $500 million, the people said. Options include renewing the partnership with FWD or finding a new partner, the people said.

The review comes two years after TMB and FWD renewed their bancassurance partnership for an initial term of 15 years. In July, FWD agreed to pay about $3 billion for the life insurance operations of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank Pcl in its biggest acquisition.

In August, TMB and Thanachart Bank Pcl approved a planned merger that will forge the country’s sixth-largest lender with about 1.9 trillion baht ($62 billion) of assets. TMB is also reviewing Thanachart’s life-insurance partnership with Prudential Plc, one of the people said.

Considerations are at an early stage and no final decision has been made, the people said. Representatives for TMB, JPMorgan, FWD, Prudential and Thanachart declined to comment.

--With assistance from Anuchit Nguyen and Benjamin Robertson.

To contact the reporter on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, David Scheer

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