By Simon Zekaria - 10th March 2004
The European Commission has approved Spanish insurer group VidaCaixa’s acquisition of the insurance arm of banking giant Banco Santander Central Hispano.
The purchase of Santander Central Hispano Previsión is not been seen by European regulators as a major threat to competitiveness in the ‘life insurance’ market – or debt guarantees in the event of mortality.
And this is the only area “where the companies overlap” said the commission on Wednesday.
“Even using the narrowest possible market definitions in the life insurance sector, the highest combined market share of the parties will not exceed 20 per cent in any possible market, and a sufficient number of strong competitors will remain,” said a press release from the EU executive.
Both VidaCaixa and SCH Previsón offer life and non-life insurance services.
VidaCaixa belongs to financial group Grupo Caifor which, following a transaction cleared by the commission in 1992, is jointly controlled by Spanish bank giant La Caixa and Belgian bank Fortis.
The move comes after a period of consolidation in the Spanish insurance market.
VidaCaixa also recently acquired another company operating in the Spanish life insurance sector, Swiss Life España – cleared by the commission in November 2003.
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