BBVA Sells Spain Life Insurance Portfolio to Scor for EUR630 Million

By Christopher Bjork

MADRID--French reinsurance group Scor SE (SCR.FR) has agreed to pay 630 million euros ($826.6 million) for the future cash flows of a portfolio Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA's ( BBVA ) Spanish life insurance policies, the Spanish bank said Friday.

In a regulatory filing, Spain's second-biggest bank by market value said it had signed a reinsurance contract comprising 90% of its life insurance policies in the country.

BBVA said it will book the proceeds as a capital gain. The Spanish bank will continue to manage the polices, but effectively swaps any future income from the products for an upfront payment. The deal will only affect insurance policies written before Dec. 31, 2012, it added.

It isn't the first time a Spanish bank agrees to this type of deal. Last year, Caixabank SA (CABK.MC) sold the cash flows of its life insurance policies to Warren Buffett's Berkeshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKB) for EUR600 million.

Write to Christopher Bjork at christopher.bjork@dowjones.com

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