Financial Services

The Welsh Rugby Union has announced banking group NatWest as sponsor for the return of the Wales Senior Trial match.

South African football club Bloemfontein Celtic has agreed new sponsorship deals with Italian sportswear brand Kappa and Swazi funeral services company B3 Funerals and Insurance.

Financial services company UniCredit is in talks to renew its partnership with the Uefa Champions League for the 2015-16 to 2017-18 cycle, after a strong return on investment from its current deal.

UK asset management firm Threadneedle Investments decided to upgrade to a global position in triathlon, having trialled the sport as a local partner of the PruHealth London Triathlon, last year’s ITU World Series Grand Final.

Golf’s European Senior Tour has agreed an extended three-year sponsorship agreement with Mauritius Commercial Bank to keep its season finale at Mauritius’ Constance Belle Plage course until 2017.

NFL American football team Baltimore Ravens has signed a 10-year extension to its stadium naming rights partnership with commercial banking group M&T Bank, in a deal worth $60m (€43.8m).

Swiss financial services firm UBS has agreed a four-year extension to its sponsorship of the Swiss Athletics governing body.

Institutional residential leases guarantor the Insurent Lease Guaranty Program has reached a sponsorship agreement with MLB baseball team New York Yankees for the 2014 regular season.

Australasian banking group ANZ has announced a three-year extension to its commercial agreement with New Zealand Cricket.

Sponsorship has proven a “flexible instrument” to financial services company UniCredit that has supported brand building and will provide a platform for future business related objectives, Daniele Penna, head of strategic sponsorships at UniCredit Group told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Financial services company Northwestern Mutual is to become the presenting sponsor of the Rose Bowl post-season American football match.

IPC Athletics, the International Paralympic Committee’s federation for para-athletics, has reached a 12-month agreement to make financial services company Allianz its first global partner.

English Lacrosse has extended its partnership with wealth management firm Rathbones to include title sponsorship of the International Lacrosse Federation (FIL) 2017 Women’s World Cup.

Mutual insurance provider Royal London is using its title sponsorship of one-day cricket in England to end its position as the “best kept secret in financial services”, Clare Salmon, group brand director and executive director at Royal London told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Financial services company Manulife Financial has extended its title sponsorship of the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic Canadian women’s golf tournament until 2016.

Insurance group Great Eastern has reached a deal to become a founding partner of the Singapore Sports Hub.