Under the terms of the agreement, the TEB and Fortis Bank Turkey retail networks will distribute both life & pension products and personal protection insurance products.

BNP Paribas Assurance, through its subsidiary Cardif, become the exclusive provider of savings, pension and personal protection products across the new retail organization.

Based on current data the merged entity, The New TEB, would rank 9th among Turkish banks in assets, with a network of 630 branches and three million retail clients.

To accelerate marketing of these new products, BNP Paribas Assurance has acquired 100% of Fortis Emeklilik ve Hayat (FEH), the life insurance arm of Ageas (formerly Fortis) in Turkey.

FEH already holds a license to market savings and pension products. This transaction, signed in July 2010 between Ageas and BNP Paribas Assurance, has since been approved by all regulatory authorities.

BNP Paribas Assurance chairman and CEO Eric Lombard said this new partnership strengthens their positions in Turkey.

"We will contribute our expertise in insurance to 'The New TEB' entity, which combines the distribution power of two major retail banking networks, enabling us to become a leading bancassurer in the Turkish market.

Cardif, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas Assurance, has been present in Turkey since 2007.