Scandinavian Nordea starts bancassurance to service its Polish investments

Scandinavia-based financial group Nordea is launching a bancassurance group aiming at servicing Scandinavian firms in Poland. PTU Energo Asekuracja and Heros-Life (HL), which was bought from Kredyt Bank last month, will be Nordeas insurance branches. Denmark-based insurance company Tryg-Baltica, part of Nordea, hopes it will obtain consent from the Treasury Ministry, Interior Ministry and insurance supervisory authorities to acquire a 95+% stake in Heros. Heros-Life will be part of the bancassurance group created by Nordea says Tryg-Baltica managing director Evar Sperling. However, company representatives realize that it will be difficult to achieve a significant position on the Polish life insurance market in which Heros Life has only 0.4% share. Additionally HL brings losses which exceeded zl 9 million in the first three quarters of 2000. Nordea is the largest financial group in Scandinavia, with total assets of roughly €230 billion. (Puls Biznesu, p.4) AZ