Bancassurance in Africa

Bancassurance is becoming increasingly successful, not only in countries where it is just emerging but also in those where it has already been established for many years with consistent or even dominant market shares. In fact, in surveys, insurers cite competition from bancassurance as one of their main concerns. There is one issue on which bankers and insurers agree: the convergence of their models. But however far bancassurance may evolve, it will only be a marriage of convenience, with its requirements of profitability, prudence and, ultimately, a regime of separation of property as strict and severe as the marriage of Hollywood stars. Credit institutions must remain attentive to their clients and the markets today. This is because profitability is, more than in any other economic sector, the condition for their development. The traditional business of financial intermediation is under attack from both ends. The development of market finance will probably cause banks to lose large clients among large companies.