Zurich Banking Group is scaling back its lending activity in the UK and switching retail account activity to its Isle of Man operation, Zurich Bank International (ZBI). Structured deposits offered in the UK market by members of the Zurich Banking Group will in future be delivered by ZBI. There will be no further onshore issues and no further issues from Dunbar Bank, which has acted as deposit taker for Zurich's Zelga products as well as its own Delga series.
Business development manager Ali King told SRP, "This makes sense for our business strategy and makes best use of the strength of the Zurich name." The line between onshore and offshore business is blurring in the UK market, said King. The move is expected to streamline the branding for the group, rationalise costs and bring greater flexibility to the balance sheet. Group parent Zurich Financial Services said a fortnight ago it had had to inject further capital into its Dunbar Bank and Zurich Bank businesses in the UK and Ireland to ensure they were adequately capitalised following hits on property loans.
The shift to ZBI will mean little change in terms of the scale of the business, however. ZBI will continue to deliver bespoke accounts and to produce products for some of Zurich's banking relationships. In addition, it will now pick up the Zurich retail offering.
Zurich Equity Linked Growth Account 4 is an offshore capital-protected deposit with 75% participation in the rise of the FTSE100 over a five-year term, with one year's monthly back-end averaging.
The minimum investment has increased from £5,000 for Zelga issues to £20,000. The product is not Isa-eligible. IFA commission is 3.25%.
This product is available now in Recent Additions (UK).