Prudential plc

Infobox Company
company_name = Prudential plc

company_type = Public (lse|PRU, nyse|PUK)
genre =
foundation = 1848
founder =
location_city = London
location_country = England, UK
location =
origins =
key_people = Sir David Clementi, Chairman
Mark Tucker, CE
area_served =
industry = Financial services
products = Life insurance
revenue = £32,866 million (2007)
operating_income = £1,185 million (2007)
net_income = £1,025 million (2007)
num_employees = 26,000cite web | url=http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/aboutpru/ourcompany/who/ | title = Prudential plc - Who We Are | accessdate=2008-03-09 | publisher=Prudential plc]
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
owner =
company_slogan = Always Listening, Always Understanding.
homepage = [http://www.prudential.co.uk/ www.prudential.co.uk]
dissolved =
footnotes =

Prudential plc (lse|PRU, nyse|PUK) is a United Kingdom-based financial services company. The company has over 21 million customers worldwide. As well as the UK arm of its operations it has operations in 12 countries in Asia and owns Jackson National Life in the United States. It founded the Egg internet bank, which it sold to Citigroup in 2007.

History

The Company was founded on 30 May 1848 in Hatton Garden in London as "The Prudential Mutual Assurance Investment and Loan Association" providing loans to professional and working people. [http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/aboutpru/ourhistory/timeline/ Prudential History] ]

In 1854 the Company began selling the relatively new concept of industrial branch insurance policies to the working class population for premiums as low as one penny through agents acting as door to door salesmen. The army of premium collection agents was for many many years identified with the Prudential as the "Man from the Pru".

It moved to its traditional home at Holborn Bars in 1879 and converted to a limited company in 1881. The building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and is built of terracotta manufactured by Gibbs and Canning Limited of Tamworth (c.1878) – two of the same driving forces behind the Natural History Museum in London.

The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1924.

In 1997 the Company acquired Scottish Amicable, a business originally founded in 1826 in Glasgow as the "West of Scotland Life Insurance Company", for $1.75bn. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E4DA1F3BF935A15750C0A961958260 Pru of Britain in Deal to buy Scottish Life Insurancer] New York Times, 1997]

In 1998 Prudential set up Egg, an internet bank within the UK. The subsidiary reached 550,000 customers within nine months but had difficulty achieving profitability. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/406903.stm Egg cracks internet for Pru] BBC News, 1999] In June 2000 an initial public offering of 21% was made to allow for further growth of the internet business but in February 2006 Prudential decided to repurchase the 21% share of Egg. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4487456.stm Prudential to swallow the Egg whole] BBC News, 2005] Egg was subsequently sold to Citibank in January 2007. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6309731.stm Pru sells EGg to Citigroup] BBC News, 2007]

In 1999, M&G, a UK fund management company, was acquired. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/294759.stm Pru pounces on investment rival] BBC News, 1999]

In June 2000 the Company was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange to help focus on the US market. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/790649.stm Prudential goes to New York] BBC News, 2000]

In October 2004 Prudential launched a new subsidiary, PruHealth, a joint venture with Discovery Holdings of South Africa selling Private Medical Insurance to the UK market. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3706970.stm Insurance boon for health conscious] BBC News, 2004]

In April 2008 Prudential outsourced its back office functions to Capita: about 3,000 jobs were transferred (1,000 in Stirling, 750 in Reading and 1,250 in Mumbai). [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7116240.stm Prudential jobs deal with Capita] BBC News, 2007]

Operations

The Company has four business units: [ [http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/aboutpru/ourcompany/what/ Prudential: What we do] ]
*Prudential UK: the business offers pensions, annuities, savings and investments (bonds, ISAs). They are particularly well-known for the sale of with-profit bonds and pensions, corporate pension schemes, bulk annuities and individual annuities. The company left the general insurance (household, car) market in 2002, licensing Churchill Insurance (now part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group) to use the Prudential name.
*M&G: the business offers investment management services including retail fund management, institutional fixed income, pooled life, pension funds, property and private finance. Part of M&G, Prudential Property Investment Managers specialises in the management of Prudential's property assets.
*Prudential Corporation Asia: the business is the largest UK life assurer in Asia. It has had a presence in the continent since 1923 when an overseas agency for life assurance was created in India. Although this was subsequently nationalised, Prudential has recently relaunched in India as ICICI Prudential, a 26% joint venture with ICICI Bank. As CITIC Prudential Life, a 50-50 joint venture, they were the first UK company to re-establish life business in China in 2000. There are also businesses in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
*Jackson National Life: the business was purchased in 1986. It was named after Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States of America and started business in 1961 at Jackson, Michigan.

Prudential Assurance and Prudential Financial

"Prudential Assurance" Company Ltd, now part of Prudential Plc, was for many years the dominant life assurance company in the UK.

It was agents from the Pru who, on deciding to leave Prudential and move to the United States, were given access to all the techniques of the firm to assist them in forming an insurance firm in America. That infant company went on to become Prudential of America known as "The Rock". There was never a significant ownership link between the two Prudential companies although there is a memorandum of understanding about use of the Prudential name around the world.

Management

There are currently 13 people on the board of directors. Key individuals are:

ee also

*Prudential Financial - Indirectly related US based company

References

External links

* [http://www.prudential.co.uk/ Prudential plc web site]
* [http://www.iciciprulife.com/ ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd (India)]
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/90/90331.html Yahoo! - Prudential plc Company Profile]
* [http://www.pru.co.uk/ Prudential UK web site]
* [http://www.pruhealth.co.uk/ PruHealth web site]
* [http://www.prudentialcorporation-asia.com/ Prudential Corporation Asia]