ANZ Bank New Zealand has agreed to sell its New Zealand life insurance business to U.S insurer Cigna Corp for $482.4 million. This, the bank said, is part of its parent’s efforts to boosts capital base by hiving off non-core businesses. The bank said the deal to sell OnePath Life NZ would add about 5 basis points to the level 1 CET ratio of the banking group. The deal would generate a gain on sale of around NZ$50 million. This is ANZ’s second sale in recent times, after it sold a majority stake in a Cambodian joint venture to Japan’s J Trust. All the major Australian banks are off-loading non-core businesses to trim their capital requirements and simplify business structure. National Australia Bank said it was looking to exit part of its wealth management arm by 2019.
