The firm's Prudential Life Insurance unit cannot solicit new business until Jan. 31, 2027
By Kelly Cloonan
Japan's top financial regulator issued business suspension and improvement orders to Prudential Financial's business units in the country after misconduct by more than 100 of the firm's employees.
Under an order from Japan's Financial Services Agency, the firm's Prudential Life Insurance unit cannot solicit new business until Jan. 31, 2027. The life consultant channel of its Gibraltar Life Insurance business is also under suspension until the same date.
The regulator also ordered both divisions, as well as Prudential Holdings of Japan, to submit business improvement plans by the end of November and report on their progress regularly.
The orders come after Prudential in January disclosed several cases of misconduct by the divisions' current and former sales employees.
According to a release at the time, Prudential Life employees solicited investments unrelated to the company's insurance operations and received or personally borrowed money from customers, amounting to about 3.1 billion yen (roughly $20 million). The misconduct prompted the unit's chief executive to resign.
The divisions said Friday they are working to reshape how they operate.
"We are creating a business that will be more resilient, more accountable, and better equipped to earn and maintain our customers' trust," said Hiromitsu Tokumaru, president and chief executive officer of Prudential of Japan.