Pru Life forms asset management, trust business

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) gave British life insurer Pru Life UK the green light to expand its business in the Philippines to include asset management services and trust products.

The regulator approved the application of the subsidiary of international financial services group Prudential PLC to set up a trust corporation to be named Pru Life UK Asset Management and Trust Corp.

Anthony Garces, vice president and chief investment officer at Pru Life UK, said the establishment of the trust corporation would complement Pru Life UK’s insurance business.

He said the new subsidiary would allow Pru Life UK to provide more value to its customers by offering them a wider range of financial solutions.

The establishment of Pru Life UK Asset Management and Trust Corp. reinforces the British life insurer’s long-standing commitment in securing the financial well-being of Filipino families.

“Pru Life UK believes that the creation of our stand-alone trust company will provide greater convenience to our customers as they further consolidate their funds with us and work with fewer fund managers. Our customers, as well as the general public, will also benefit from having more financial planning options with Pru Life UK, whether relating to protection, insuravest, or investments,” Pru Life UK president Antonio de Rosas said.

The Insurance Commission granted Pru Life UK the license to operate and sell life insurance products in the Philippines in 1996. Since then, it has expanded its reach to over 130 branches in the country, with the biggest life agency force of more than 20,000 licensed agents, and has emerged as one of the top five life insurers.

“This is a mission we aim to realize with the support of Pru Life UK’s agency force, the largest in the country,” De Rosas said.

The Philippine trust industry broadly sustained growth in assets and profitable operations in 2017 following the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and favorable investment climate.

Total resources of trust entities grew 15.9 percent to P3.42 trillion in 2017 from P2.95 trillion a year ago amid the expansion in the stock of financial assets, mostly investments in equities.

On the other hand, the trust industry sustained a positive bottomline despite the rise in operating costs. The industry’s net income rose 3.7 percent to P5.6 billion last year from a year-ago level of P5.4 billion.

As of end 2017, there were 37 financial institutions including 16 universal banks, seven commercial banks, seven thrift banks, four investment houses, and three trust corporations with active trust operations.