AIB's retail division is understood to be on the verge of investing in Centura, the new health insurance business backed by Mr Dermot Desmond and fronted by former VHI chief Mr Oliver Tattan. Barry O'Halloran reports.
The move will shake up the health insurance market by bringing Centura and the bank into direct competition with the two existing players, the State-owned Voluntary Health Insurance (VHI) and the British non-profit group, BUPA.
According to industry sources, the State's biggest bank intends to invest in the company, and will sell Centura's insurance products through its branch network. This will provide Centura with a key distribution system.
Neither side would comment on the deal yesterday but it is understood that they are close to finalising an agreement.
Centura, as it is currently known, has applied to the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) for a licence to trade as a health insurer, but no date has been finalised for its launch. IFSRA has yet to issue the licence.
The company that will own the business is called Centura Health Administration Ltd. However, the ultimate trading name is likely to be Vivas, which was the original name of the company.
According to its annual return in April of this year, Mr Tattan held 97 of the 100 shares issued in the company while Mr Stephen Loughman held the remainder.Both are directors of the company, as they are of a more recently formed entity, Vivas Financial Services Ltd.
That company was incorporated in May and is not due to make any annual return to the Companies' Registration Office (CRO) until next year. Investor and financier Mr Dermot Desmond is also backing the project.
It is not clear what type of products Centura/Vivas will offer. A spokeswoman was recently quoted as saying it would sell individually tailored health insurance packages to clients, and would compete on price.
Mr Tattan was chief executive of VHI for three years in the late 1990s, not long after BUPA entered the market and began competing for clients. Subsequently, he was hired by Mr Desmond's vehicle, International Investment and Underwriting (IIU).
Mr Tattan, who turned 40 earlier this month, became chief executive of the Irish Trade Board nine years ago. He left the board after serving two years of a five-year contract.
He originally qualified as a chemical engineer and then got an MBA. His previous jobs include working in an African gold mine and running a pewter and precious stones business in Brazil. Subsequent to that, he managed a business in Frankfurt, Germany's main financial centre.
The Irish health insurance market has been open to competition since 1996, when BUPA first began trading here. However, before Centura flagged its arrival late last year, no third player had attempted to get a foothold in this market.
