Storebrand, Norway's largest insurer, has applied for permission to set up a life assurance operation in the Republic and hopes to be up and running by the end of the year. The operation, planned as a joint venture with Swedish life company Livforsakring, will concentrate on selling pension products to large Scandinavian corporate customers.
But a Storebrand spokesman did not rule out competing for pension business in the Irish market in the longer term.
Storebrand said the company targeted the Republic because the Irish regulatory authorities offer "a good and flexible regulatory framework with regard to capitalisation, product development and asset management". Such a regulatory framework was essential to build up a competitive international life and pensions business, the company said.
The Irish operation will employ about 20 people and the company plans branches in Norway, Sweden and Denmark targeting occupational pension markets in the Nordic countries.
The joint venture requires approval from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the Republic and regulatory authorities in Norway and Sweden.
SPP Livforsakring is a leading player in the Swedish occupational pension market and a subsidiary of the SPP Group, the largest life and pensions company in the Nordic region.
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