Category: Insurance

TIS Helps Treasury Teams Navigate the Ongoing ISO 20022 Transition After the 2025 Banking Deadline

Treasury Intelligence Solutions (TIS), a leading cloud-based platform for payments and cash management, is future-proofing organizations with specialized translation services in the wake of the recent November 2025 ISO 20022 deadline. A major turning point for the financial industry, SWIFT now requires banks to move their cross-border payment messages to ISO 20022. As a result, treasury teams are already seeing differences in how their banks send and receive payment information. Adapting to these changes will require a strategic approach to modernizing systems and processes.

ISO 20022 replaces a patchwork of older standards with a single approach to structuring payment data. The new universal standard is designed to reduce confusion across markets, improve data quality, and support the level of transparency that regulators around the globe now expect.

Moving to ISO 20022 payments takes time and strategic vision, especially when legacy systems, ERP, and payment systems were not built with structured data in mind. Updating those requires planning and coordination across several internal teams.

“ISO 20022 is a major industry shift, but it shouldn’t disrupt the way companies operate day-to-day,” said Wouter De Bie, Chief Technology Officer at TIS. “Our priority is making this transition seamless. By leveraging our platform’s ability to translate payment files into bank-specific formats and automatically populate ISO-required fields, we give treasury teams the flexibility to adapt at their own pace. This approach ensures stability, reduces risk, and empowers organizations to meet new standards without costly system overhauls or last-minute fixes.”

The TIS platform leverages more than 140,000 bank-specific profiles to provide comprehensive coverage of ISO bank formats. In addition, an innovative AI-powered solution addresses ISO-specific requirements such as structured address information for corporate beneficiaries. Companies that begin now to update their data and payment workflows will be better prepared for the larger changes still ahead. Those that don’t may face frustrating problems like message truncation, rejected payments, and slower processing times as unstructured formats are phased out.

“We’re already seeing the benefits of a proactive approach to ISO 20022,” said Jon Paquette, Chief of Strategy at TIS. “Organizations using our platform have implemented early bank-driven changes without payment failures or costly rework and are also leveraging our statement format conversion capabilities to avoid disruptions in reconciliation and cash applications as banks sunset MT formats and introduce CAMT. This proves that with the right tools, companies can prepare for full ISO adoption on their own timelines – maintaining stability while meeting evolving standards.”

About TIS
TIS helps CFOs, Treasurers, and Finance teams transform their global cash flow, liquidity, and payment functions. Since 2010, our award-winning cloud platform and best-in-class service model have empowered the entire office of the CFO to collaborate more effectively and attain maximum efficiency, automation, and control. TIS enables users to achieve superior performance in key areas surrounding cash forecasting, working capital, outbound payments, financial messaging, fraud prevention, payment compliance, and more.

To learn how TIS can support your ISO 20022 transition, contact us today.

CONTACT:
Blair Romain
+496227698240
blair.romain@tispayments.com

SOURCE: Treasury Intelligence Solutions

FWD Group reports strong new business growth

HONG KONG, Nov 3, 2025 – (ACN Newswire) – FWD Group Holdings Limited (“FWD Group” or “FWD”) today announced strong new business growth for the nine months ended 30 September 2025[1].

  • New business sales were up 37 per cent to US$1.935 billion compared to the same period in 2024 on an annualised premium equivalent (APE) basis.
  • New business contractual service margin was US$1.158 billion, with year-on-year growth of 27 per cent.
  • Refinanced US$1.15 billion of debt in September and redeemed US$500 million of debt by mainly utilising recent initial public offering (IPO) proceeds. This reduced leverage to 21.8 per cent[2] and lowered annualised financing costs by ~US$72 million.
  • Continued to anticipate and respond to rapidly evolving customer needs for protection, health, and savings, with over 40 new products introduced in 2025.

Huynh Thanh Phong, Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of FWD Group, said, “We’re thrilled to report strong new business results, powered by organic growth across most of the 10 Asian markets where FWD Group operates. A positive indicator of value creation for our shareholders is the surge in our new business contractual service margin, which continues to strengthen our CSM balance and boost earnings over time.”

“In September, we seized a window in the debt markets for refinancing, and with the successful IPO in July, we’ve made great progress in reducing our overall debt. The significant decrease in financing costs and leverage delivers benefits to our shareholders and puts FWD Group in a prime position to accelerate our customer-led growth strategy and advance our risk management priorities,” added Huynh Thanh Phong.

Exceptional demand from both local and visiting customers continued to drive the strong new business growth in Hong Kong SAR & Macau SAR.

In Emerging Markets, strong double-digit growth in new business sales reflected momentum in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and FWD Group’s joint venture in Indonesia, BRI Life.

In Japan, new business sales growth reflected solid performance in the individual protection business and the company’s recent entry into the retirement and savings market.

The low-interest rate environment continued to weigh on new business indicators in the Thailand & Cambodia reporting segment.

About FWD Group

FWD Group (1828.HK) is a pan-Asian life and health insurance business that serves approximately 34 million customers across 10 markets, including BRI Life in Indonesia. FWD’s customer-led and tech-enabled approach aims to deliver innovative propositions, easy-to-understand products and a simpler insurance experience. Established in 2013, the company operates in some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world with a vision of changing the way people feel about insurance. FWD Group is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 1828.

For more information, please visit www.fwd.com

For media inquiries, please contact: groupcommunications@fwd.com

Source: FWD Group Holdings Limited

[1] The results are for the nine months ended 30 September 2025 and are compared to the same period in 2024. Growth rates are represented on a constant exchange rate (CER) basis, unless otherwise indicated.
[2] On a proforma basis as at 30 June 2025.

TURBO set to accelerate growth following its first SET trading day

Ngernturbo PCL (TURBO), a retail financial service provider, is set to drive its growth following the Company’s first day of trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET: TURBO). TURBO highlights the exponential growth in its loan portfolio, surmounting all economic hurdles for profitability exceeding the industry average. The Company is also determined to expand its branch network to at least 1,457 locations by 2029, in parallel with the development of new financial products and services. This plan is expected to further enhance the Company’s overall loan portfolio and contribute to continued growth. The objective for TURBO is to become a leading national retail financial service provider.

Mr. Sutach Ruangsuttipap, CEO of TURBO, remarked, “While the Company’s shares began trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) on Sept 30, in the FIN (Financial & Securities) Sector, and the FINCIAL (Financial) industry group under the symbol ‘TURBO’, the listing follows a successful IPO (initial public offering) of 537 million shares at 1.50 baht per share, which attracted overwhelming interest from both institutional and retail investors. This success reflects confidence in TURBO’s business operations and growth potential, which will make us one of the most sought-after stocks upon listing.”

Following the SET listing, TURBO aims to build on its success, becoming a leading national retail financial service provider, and achieving strong growth through several key strategies. 1. Building the brand as the No.1 choice for customers, with the emphasis on speed, convenience, and quality of service to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth referrals. 2. Developing the Company’s IT systems. TURBO maintains a strategy of building on its in-house technology team which can quickly develop specific IT systems most suitable for the organization. The Company prioritizes the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance efficiency in every work process. 3. Enhancing customer convenience by expanding branch coverage nationwide, with the aim of establishing no less than 1,475 branches by the year 2029. The plan is to develop better access to comprehensive financial products to ensure more extensive coverage. 4. Developing a diverse range of products to meet the differentiated needs of customers, such as increasing the types of loan collateral, expanding insurance product lines, and increasing the number of insurance partners, etc.


“I am confident that after our listing on the SET, TURBO will achieve stronger growth and generate more sustainable returns for shareholders, driven by customer-centric financial services, customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth referrals, together with the use of specially developed IT systems. All these processes will help to ensure that TURBO will be able to quickly adapt to any situation and maintain low operating costs in the long term,” Mr. Sutach added.

In 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, the Group’s total revenues were 2,430.7 million baht and 3,033.2 million baht. That translated into a 24.8% increase, with net profits of 131.7 million baht and 141.6 million baht, a 7.5% annual increase.

For the first six months (January – June) of 2025, combined revenue reached 1,517.6 million baht, a 3.7% increase, and net profit was 235.9 million baht, or a 285.8% increase compared to the previous year. As of June 30, 2025, the net interest margin was 19.8%, higher than the industry average(1) of 15.1%. Moreover, the net income after deducting expected credit losses to net loan receivables averaged 21.8%, higher than the industry average of 18.0%.

Mr. Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, CEO of TISCO Securities Co Ltd, the lead-underwriter, and representative of TISCO Bank PCL, stated that TURBO has high growth potential, driven by the non-financial institutional retail loan market scenario, which has grown significantly from 220 billion baht in 2018 to 630 billion baht in Q1 2025. This is equivalent to an compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6%, higher than the commercial bank personal loan market which grew from 170 billion baht to 220 billion baht during the same period, or a CAGR of 4.5%. This reflects the continued growth in demand for retail loans from middle- to low-income customers who have limited or no access to commercial financial services, and make up a large segment of the population.

Positive factors across the industry are also driving TURBO’s growth in interest from loans, its core business, to annual returns of 40.8% from 2022 to 2024, while the Group’s revenue from insurance brokerage and life insurance brokerage grew 54.3% annually from 2020 to 2024. The Company’s strong foundation and solid long-erm growth potential will enable TURBO to become a quality stocks in the Thai capital market.

Mr. Pongsak Phrukpaisal, Managing Director of Kasikorn Securities PCL, the lead-underwriter, said he was confident that TURBO would be a growth stock that generates returns for investors. This is attributable to the Company’s quick and convenient services, customer empathy, and the team comprised of new generation of professionals with expertise in finance and digital technology. The Company utilizes technology to drive the organization in every process for efficient operations, resulting in impressive results and a high 20.7% word-of-mouth referral rate among customers. This led to exponential growth in the loan portfolio of 31.5% per year between 2020 and Q2 2025. Furthermore, the Company has the opportunity to expand its loan portfolio significantly despite being a relatively new operator with an average branch age of only 4.1 years.

(1) A group of 5 SET-listed industry operators.

Press release by MT Multimedia Co Ltd for Ngernturbo PCL.
For more information: Pipop ‘Top’, MT Multimedia
T: +66 81 929 8864, E: pipop.k@mtmultimedia.com

Ngernturbo PCL (SET: TURBO, SET-R:TURBO, SET/F:TURBO), https://www.turbo.co.th.

FWD Group posts record 1H in first results as a public company

– A US$466 million IPO in July further improved the company’s financial flexibility, followed by a ratings upgrade by Moody’s.

HONG KONG, Aug 29, 2025 – (ACN Newswire) – FWD Group Holdings Limited (“FWD Group” or “FWD”) today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025.

* New business sales were up 38 per cent to US$1.246 billion compared to 2024 on an annualised premium equivalent (APE) basis. New business contractual service margin (CSM) of US$794 million, with year-on-year growth of 34 per cent.

* Operating profit after tax was up 9 per cent to US$251 million with continued positive contributions from each of the company’s four geographic reporting segments: Hong Kong SAR & Macau SAR; Thailand & Cambodia; Japan; and Emerging Markets.

* Net profit of US$47 million is a record interim result under IFRS 17.

* Further improved financial flexibility with an upgrade to FWD Group’s ratings – with its notional insurer financial strength rating now A2 – as announced by Moody’s in July 2025. Maintained a strong capital position with a 283 per cent solvency ratio* and net underlying free surplus generation that more than doubled to US$417 million. Dividends of over US$500 million were received from the geographic reporting segments. 

* Comprehensive tangible equity up 8 per cent to US$8.15 billion, and Group embedded value up 8 per cent to US$6.38 billion, reflecting the value created for shareholders during the first half of 2025. The company subsequently completed its IPO – which raised HK$3,611 million (approximately US$466 million) in gross proceeds – and began trading on 7 July 2025 under the stock code 1828 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

* Completed the build-out of a high-net-worth (HNW) hub in Asia operating out of three jurisdictions – Hong Kong SAR, Singapore and Bermuda – serving the global high-end insurance market with diversified asset allocation, wealth management and legacy planning. A new FWD Private lounge located in a prime commercial district in Hong Kong is now fully operational.

Huynh Thanh Phong, Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of FWD Group, said, “We’re delighted to report record interim results under IFRS 17 in our first earnings as a publicly listed company. The outstanding growth in new business CSM demonstrates our ability to execute our customer-led strategy successfully across Asia in a sustainable and profitable way.

“We intend to use the net proceeds of our recent IPO to further enhance our capital position and financial flexibility, which may involve reducing debt, in support of further growth and reach with customers, digital capabilities and channels,” added Huynh Thanh Phong.

In Hong Kong SAR & Macau SAR, outstanding growth was posted in new business sales and new business CSM, reflecting ongoing broad-based demand from both local and Mainland Chinese visitor customers and the full activation of the FWD Private HNW business. The company continues to focus on its multi-channel distribution strategy alongside product innovation – such as its indexed universal life offering developed following recent regulatory guidance, as well as new cross-border Greater Bay Area medical services for eligible customers.

The Thailand & Cambodia reporting segment new business indicators were partly impacted by the exit from underwriting new business in the Thailand corporate care segment in 2024. The business remains well positioned in Thailand to meet demand for protection, medical and pension products from an aging population. Its exclusive bancassurance partnership with Siam Commercial Bank maintained its number one market position. Similarly, the company’s agents and advisors retained a number two position in the annual Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) rankings released in July 2025. The MDRT is a global independent association recognised as a standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services industries.

In Japan, the business reported solid new business results from its individual protection focused portfolio. The introduction of its first savings offering in July – a Japanese yen single premium annuity product – marked the company’s entry into the savings and retirement needs market.  

The Emerging Markets segment reported strong new business sales growth, despite industry headwinds and economic uncertainty in several markets. In Indonesia, BRI Life – a joint venture where FWD Group holds a strategic 44 per cent investment and collaborates with Bank BRI – was number one in bancassurance by new business sales. In the Philippines and Vietnam, the company’s agents and advisors ranked number two in the latest annual MDRT rankings.

 Six months ended/as at 31 Dec or 30 Jun 
 US$ millions, except for percentages2025 2024 Growth (year on year CER basis)
 Profitability
 Operating profit after tax251 223 9%
 Net profit/(loss)47 3 nm
 CSM balance5,996 5,174 11%
 Growth
 New business sales (APE)1,246 876 38%
 New business CSM794 573 34%
 Value of new business506 404 21%
 Customer indicators
 Purchase customer emotion – good or great92% 92% n/a
 Claims customer advocacy – net promoter score63 64 n/a
 Risk & Capital
 Net underlying free surplus generation417 193 115%
 Group local capital summation method cover ratio*283% 260% n/a
 Value
 Group embedded value6,380 5,569 8%
 Comprehensive tangible equity8,150 7,162 8%
 Return on tangible equity17% 15% n/a


About FWD Group

FWD Group (1828.HK) is a pan-Asian life and health insurance business that serves approximately 34 million customers across 10 markets, including BRI Life in Indonesia. FWD’s customer-led and tech-enabled approach aims to deliver innovative propositions, easy-to-understand products and a simpler insurance experience. Established in 2013, the company operates in some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world with a vision of changing the way people feel about insurance. FWD Group is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 1828. For more information, please visit www.fwd.com

For media inquiries, please contact: groupcommunications@fwd.com

Source: FWD Group Holdings Limited

* The results are for the six months ended 30 June 2025 and are compared to the same period in 2024. CSM balance, Group LCSM cover ratio, group embedded value, comprehensive tangible equity and return on equity 2024 values are December 2024 balances/ratios and growth rates are shown accordingly. Growth rates are represented on a constant exchange rate (CER) basis. Except for operating profit/(loss) after tax (non-IFRS measure), net profit/(loss), CSM, and comprehensive tangible equity, all other numbers are unaudited. Operating profit after tax and net profit after tax represent the amounts attributable to equity holders of the company and are presented net of non-controlling interests. New business sales are calculated on an annualised premium equivalent (APE) basis, based on 100 percent annualised first year premiums and 10 percent single premiums. Return on tangible equity is calculated as operating profit after tax, divided by the average of the balances of tangible equity as of the beginning and end of such period. Tangible equity is calculated as adjusted total equity attributable to shareholders of the company, minus the intangible assets net of non-controlling interests.

*Prescribed capital requirement (PCR) basis