Tobi Schneider

The first three months of 2013 added up to another busy period for affinity and corporate partnerships around the world, with a variety of fresh and often innovative initiatives in evidence at both the national and international levels.

In line with the reorganisation of its troubled banking sector, Spain’s bancassurance market continues to evolve with AEGON and Aviva respectively discontinuing joint ventures with Unnim and Bankia albeit with both groups remaining committed to Spanish… Show more

The first three months of 2013 added up to another busy period for affinity and corporate partnerships around the world, with a variety of fresh and often innovative initiatives in evidence at both the national and international levels.

In line with the reorganisation of its troubled banking sector, Spain’s bancassurance market continues to evolve with AEGON and Aviva respectively discontinuing joint ventures with Unnim and Bankia albeit with both groups remaining committed to Spanish bancassurance through other partnerships. Meanwhile, already a leader in bancassurance in south-east Asia, Prudential has extended its footprint by entering into a new distribution relationship with ACLEDA Bank in Cambodia.

Two important new joint ventures to comment upon in the automotive finance sector are those of Santander and JAC in China (for an independent company that intends to provide finance across all automotive brands, not just those of JAC itself), and of UniCredit and Renault Nissan in Russia (which will focus on providing finance for the Dacia, Infiniti, Nissan and Renault brands).

Finally, the fast-moving world of mobile payments has seen its customary slew of initiatives including multi-country deals involving MasterCard and Visa with Vimpelcom and Samsung, respectively.
Show less

The announcement or launch of new joint ventures loomed large during the final quarter of 2012 with major developments in this area including those of AEGON with Santander in Spain, Allianz with Volkswagen in Germany, Cigna with Finansbank in Turkey and with SAICO in the Middle East, MAPFRE with Bankinter in Spain, MasterCard with Telefónica in Brazil, and Prudential with Fosun International in China.

Typically, joint ventures constitute more of a commitment from the partners involved… Show more

The announcement or launch of new joint ventures loomed large during the final quarter of 2012 with major developments in this area including those of AEGON with Santander in Spain, Allianz with Volkswagen in Germany, Cigna with Finansbank in Turkey and with SAICO in the Middle East, MAPFRE with Bankinter in Spain, MasterCard with Telefónica in Brazil, and Prudential with Fosun International in China.

Typically, joint ventures constitute more of a commitment from the partners involved because they entail shared equity ownership of the entity established. Having said that, the quarter under review also witnessed the creation of several ‘conventional’ distribution partnerships with relatively long contractual durations including those of AIA with NDB Bank in Sri Lanka (20 years), Allianz with HSBC in various Asia-Pacific markets (ten years), and TD Bank Group with Target in the US (seven years).

As ever, new affinity and partnership marketing initiatives are visible across the full range of financial services with innovative deals including those of Aon with the Space Expedition Corporation for insurance of consumer space travel, Citibank with the Czech region of Liberec for multi-function credit cards, Hastings Partnerships with Kingfisher for van insurance and a consortium of partners with Italian football team AC Milan for a personal insurance package covering multiple risks. Show less

This quarter’s edition of the Global Affinity Finance Club includes news about affinity and partnership marketing in financial services from as many as 45 countries around the world.

Starting in the UK, an eye-catching initiative given the increasing woes of the country’s banking sector is that of HSBC and Marks & Spencer who intend to convert their existing M&S Money brand into a full-service retail bank during 2012 with a plan for in-store branches to eventually reach 50 of the retail… Show more

This quarter’s edition of the Global Affinity Finance Club includes news about affinity and partnership marketing in financial services from as many as 45 countries around the world.

Starting in the UK, an eye-catching initiative given the increasing woes of the country’s banking sector is that of HSBC and Marks & Spencer who intend to convert their existing M&S Money brand into a full-service retail bank during 2012 with a plan for in-store branches to eventually reach 50 of the retail group’s outlets.

Further afield, Chinese payments company UnionPay is visible in a number of items that illustrate how it is seeking to increase its influence both within and outside of China.

Otherwise, deals have been coming thick and fast in the areas of assistance and product insurance / warranties with new ventures mentioned involving the likes of Assurant Solutions, CarGarantie, riven
Solutions, Europ Assistance, Jubilee, MAPFRE Asistencia, Mondial Assistance, SPB and Ten Group.
Interestingly, in these areas, mobile operator brands are often cited as the partners which illustrates how they are increasingly diversifying into new areas of banking and insurance. Show less

The Global Affinity Finance Club is Finaccord’s quarterly newsletter about affinity financial services worldwide. Through this, Finaccord publishes top line information about key strategic developments in affinity and partnership marketing of financial services around the world, segmented between affinity insurance news, bancassurance news and affinity banking news.