Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and three insurers with ties to the Sumitomo Mitsui group said Thursday they will bolster those ties to enhance their ability to develop innovative insurance policies and boost marketing cooperation amid the harsh business environment.

The allies -- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. -- said the key pillars of the new arrangement include the joint development of policies carrying both life and nonlife characteristics.

In the developmental process, the group will count on Sumitomo Mitsui Banking for its expertise in the area of developing attractive financial products, it said.

The four-way arrangement also calls for the two life insurers to commission nonlife peer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance to market their life policies.

The statement said they will seek to cash in on the marketing resources of the three, including 48,000 Sumitomo Life salesmen, 16,000 Mitsui Mutual Life canvassers and 91,000 Mitsui Sumitomo agents.

In turn, Mitsui Sumitomo will have Sumitomo Life and Mitsui Mutual Life salesmen market its nonlife policies, it said.

The four allies will also boost cooperation in the asset management field.

The group will have Mitsui Mutual Life's nonlife subsidiary hand over its operations to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.

The announcement comes before life insurers release earnings results next week for the first half of fiscal 2001.

Mitsui Mutual Life will ask Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and other group firms to help enhance its capital accounts, group officials said.

Mitsui Mutual Life has sought to raise its capital funds because its solvency margin ratio -- the key gauge to measure an insurer's ability to pay claims -- is relatively low, they added.