Liberalisation of sales through bank channel

There are continued restrictions on the sale of insurance through bank channel, which should be liberalised in the interest of Japanese consumers. Proposing suitable insurance products based on a customer’s specific needs will become more and more important. For securing effectiveness, banks would need to confirm a customer’s intention properly by sorting out each customer’s information and needs. From that point of view, the EBC believes it would contribute to the benefit of the customers that banks better utilise customer’s private information and financial information to some extent when confirming the customer’s intention. Following recent issues in the non-life industry, life insurers have also to review how they have been sending, sometime massively, seconded staff to support banks’ product selection and distribution. If the number of secondees has to decrease at banks in the future, the question will be how banks are “replacing” such resources to ensure insurance sales continue to develop.