KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 1): RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK) on Friday signed new 20-year exclusive bancassurance and bancatakaful partnerships with Tokio Marine Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd (KL:TAKAFUL).
The new partnership comes after RHB was reported to have explored alternative bancassurance partners over the past year, ahead of the expiry of its 10-year deal with Tokio Marine on Dec 31, 2024. It also came as a surprise that RHB had ultimately chosen to renew its partnership with Tokio Marine despite their legal dispute last year.
Under the new agreement, the bancassurance period has been extended to 20 years, compared with 10 years in the previous deal.
In a statement, RHB said it formalised the new partnerships through two distribution agreements — one between RHB Bank and Tokio Marine for conventional life insurance, and the other between RHB Islamic Bank and Takaful Malaysia for family and general takaful — as well as a joint framework agreement.
The bank added that it will exclusively distribute and promote Tokio Marine and Takaful Malaysia’s insurance and takaful products through its nationwide branches and digital platforms.
It said the agreements will yield a total access fee of up to RM1.6 billion for RHB, based on projected business volume from the banca channels over the duration, which will contribute positively to RHB’s profit before tax.
“The long-term and exclusive banca partnerships reinforce our commitment to staying relevant to our customers, diversifying our income streams and driving sustainable long-term growth,” RHB group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Rashid Mohamad said.
“This aligns with our PROGRESS27 strategic priorities, which are already in motion, enabling us to deliver broader value to our stakeholders while driving our non-interest income streams,” Mohd Rashid said.
Tokio Marine CEO Toi See Jong said the deal reflects the strength, resilience and maturity of the partnership.
“We are confident that this next chapter will see us deliver even greater value to the community, combining Tokio Marine’s global insurance expertise with RHB’s local reach and customer trust,” Toi said.
Takaful Malaysia group CEO Nor Azman Zainal said the partnership would help the company scale its offerings and broaden its footprint within the Islamic financial ecosystem.
“It reflects our ongoing commitment to making ethical, shariah-compliant protection more accessible to a wider base of consumers across our key markets,” he added.
In September 2024, Tokio Marine filed a lawsuit against RHB to enforce its right of first refusal under the previous 10-year bancassurance agreement between them. RHB Bank argued that Tokio Marine had already exercised its right of first refusal by rejecting an offer from the bank.
Later in November 2024, the High Court ruled that the agreement remains valid and requires RHB to give Tokio Marine the first opportunity to match any new bid. Until this process is completed, RHB is barred from entering into a new bancassurance deal.
Shares in RHB closed six sen or 0.98% higher at RM6.19 on Friday, valuing the fourth largest banking group in the country at RM27 billion.
Takaful Malaysia settled up two sen or 0.63% at RM3.22, giving the takaful operator a market capitalisation of RM2.81 billion.