HSBC said on Friday it will sell its Singapore life and health insurance business to Germany's Allianz, in a deal valuing the unit at S$2.7 billion ($2.09 billion).
The disposal is expected to generate a pre-tax gain of $1.8 billion and an estimated up to 15 basis-point increase to CET1 for the HSBC Group, the bank said.
A sale will mark another step in HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery's drive to simplify Europe's largest bank, redeploying capital into businesses and markets where it sees stronger returns, while preserving Singapore as a key wealth and wholesale banking hub.
For insurers, the HSBC asset offers a rare chance to gain scale in Singapore, a wealthy, tightly regulated market where distribution and bancassurance relationships are prized.
Earlier in May, HSBC had disclosed that a review of HSBC Life Singapore's insurance manufacturing business was ongoing.
Bloomberg first reported on the news in the middle of June. ($1 = 1.2923 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Sneha Kumar, Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore, Selena Li and Kane Wu in Hong Kong, Anton Bridge in Tokyo and Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Shailesh Kuber)
