Aegon Poland has signed an agreement to acquire 49% of Phinance S.A shares. This leading Polish financial intermediary offers life and non-life insurance, investment products, mortgage and consumer loans.
Phinance is one of the largest independent brokers in Poland and has been operating since 2002. The intermediary cooperates with 45 leading financial institutions in Poland, including insurers, banks, and mutual funds. More than 600 of Phinance's consultants serve clients from 32 branches located in the country's largest cities.
"Faced with rapidly evolving regulations and the challenges of the digital era, we want to provide our customers with a wide range of products and convenient access to services," says Marc van der Ploeg, CEO of Aegon Poland. "At the same time, we understand that many customers still need a trusted and independent advisor when making important financial decisions. Therefore we decided to invest in Phinance, which in our view offers tremendous growth potential."
Growing distribution channels
Aegon's investment in Phinance supports its plans for further development in Poland by increasing scale of distribution. With this transaction Aegon gains access to a network of professional advisors offering a wide range of financial products. Aegon will support Phinance, with its global experience and know-how, to accelerate development.
Phinance has worked closely with Aegon since 2006. "During this period we had an opportunity to develop a deep understanding of Phinance's philosophy and business model," says Jan Zimowicz, Chief Commercial Officer Aegon Poland. "At Aegon we believe in business partnership and we highly appreciate the competences offered by Phinance's management team, and its profile as an independent financial intermediary."
Increasing professionalization
In this competitive market the financial intermediation services business is becoming ever more professional. At the same time market changes and regulatory requirements are increasing barriers to entry. The coming years present a considerable opportunity for strong, large and professional financial companies.
"It is our ambition to set the standards for that market by putting customers first and providing them with a wide range of carefully selected offerings," says Olga Jacek, Phinance CEO. "I am certain that Aegon's capital engagement will help us develop innovative products and services that satisfy the needs of our clients. We have ideas for further development which now have greater potential to be implemented."
