Banks Are Out: Insurers Are In!

The acquisition of Travelers Life Insurance Company by MetLife is a big story, financially speaking, largely because of the dimensions of the sales price and because of the well-known firms involved.
Citigroup, the seller of Travelers Life to MetLife, produced an even greater story. Citigroup, the firm that in 1991, introduced the concept of one stop financial shopping; banking, investments and insurance, under one roof is now selling off its insurance subsidiaries. It sold the Travelers Property/Casualty Company two years ago to the St. Paul Companies. Given as the reason for opting out of insurance, a Citigroup spokesperson stated that the firm “will be more productive in revenue and growth by repositioning its sources in banking for insurance is too slow in this regard.”
“The cross selling opportunities did not materialize between bank customers and insurance products. People prefer buying insurance from professional insurance agents and brokers,” the spokesman added.