Insurance Daily | October 2024
Two recent M&A operations by UniCredit and BNP Paribas are highlighting what the most attentive market observers had predicted for some time.
UniCredit, waiting to conquer Commerzbank, consolidates its position in the life sector with the double acquisition of the shares in the two historic joint ventures, with Allianz and CNP, bringing back in house the product factories linked to the branch with higher margins and growth potential in which banks are playing a leading role.
With this operation, UniCredit becomes the fourth operator in the life insurance sector in Italy with almost 8 billion in premiums, the third in bancassurance and the first in unit linked.
The choice that surprised the partners was also facilitated by the Danish Compromise, an accounting principle aimed at facilitating financial conglomerates made up of credit institutions and insurance companies, thanks to which the absorption of capital is extremely more favorable than it was at the time of renewal of the joint ventures.
BNP Paribas acquires AXA Investment Management for 5.1 billion cash, the asset management company of the French insurance giant which has decided to focus solely on the core business of protection.
With this move, the BNP Paribas banking group will manage a total of 1,500 billion euros, the result of the integration of the assets held by AXA IM and BNP Paribas Asset Management, becoming the fourth operator at European level.
An operation that also makes great sense: asset management is a highly profitable and relatively inexpensive activity, which therefore makes sense to take home while keeping assets and profits within the perimeter of the group.
The almost 220 billion in alternative assets of AXA IM (equal to 30% of assets under management) also contributed to inducing BNP Paribas to purchase AXA IM, the majority of which consists of real estate and private debt, ideal for institutional and High Net Worth clients of the BNP Paribas banking group.
Strengthening and bringing product factories in-house, both on the asset management and protection side, will be the mantra of the coming years, when with the lowering of rates, revenues will increasingly depend on income from management commissions and financial consultancy.
It is to be expected that also on the asset management company front, UniCredit will soon land another ace, the joint venture NOVA Investment Management with AZIMUT, which envisages the purchase of the controlling stake, the agreement expiring in 2027, with AMUNDI, the creation of the Onemarkets Funds platform, are clear indications of an announced strategy.
Making Andrea Orcel’s move in the life sector even more effective is the recruitment of one of the most capable and respected managers on the market, Alessandro Santoliquido, head of UniCredit’s insurance business at a pan-European level.
The manager gave himself two years to consolidate UniCredit Vita, focusing on mixed life policies, i.e. not pure investments but with an insurance component combined with dynamic portfolio management.
Also on the BNP Paribas front there is a manager who enjoys the respect and trust of the market with a strong reputation within the French group, Alessandro Pierri, former CEO of Pioneer then sold to AMUNDI, and CEO of BNP Paribas Asset for three years Management.
To implement these strategies destined to change the finance and protection sector, we therefore need capable managers with vision and it seems that at least in this in Italy we are second to none.
Nicola Ronchetti