Manulife Financial Corp. stopped offering a leveraged insurance product in Hong Kong following increased regulatory attention. The product targeted affluent customers with projected returns exceeding 10%. Clients were permitted to borrow a significant portion of the policy's value at a fixed rate of 3.39%. This rate remains well below typical market lending benchmarks.
Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority is increasing oversight of the cross-border wealth industry to address creative financial arrangements. The regulator focuses on protecting policyholders from potential losses linked to complex products.
Manulife’s U.S. division, John Hancock, introduced an enhanced version of its Protection Variable Universal Life (VUL) insurance. The company aims to drive growth in the U.S. life insurance sector by offering more flexible solutions.