AEGON has no Need For Additional Core Capital; Agreement With Dutch State Sufficient to Maintain Strong Capital Buffer
November 18 2008 - 12:17PM
PR Newswire (US)
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, November 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
AEGON, the owner of Transamerica, confirms that it is currently
examining the possibility of acquiring a thrift in the United
States. This would potentially allow the company to qualify for the
US government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The company
has no need for additional core capital beyond the EUR 3 billion
secured from the Dutch State. AEGON believes it is prudent, and
possibly advantageous, to explore the terms and conditions under
which financial support may be available under TARP. At present, no
decision has been taken either with regard to the acquisition of a
thrift in the United States or to AEGON's eventual participation in
TARP. At this stage, it is unclear whether AEGON, as an insurance
company domiciled in the Netherlands, would be eligible for the
program. Ownership of a bank or a thrift institution is a necessary
pre-requisite to any participation. "AEGON has a sufficient capital
buffer given our recent actions. The EUR 3 billion of core capital
we secured last month from the Dutch State, combined with the
measures we are taking ourselves, is more than adequate to ensure
that we enter 2009 with a strong capital buffer," said Jos
Streppel, AEGON's Chief Financial Officer. "In the current market
environment, we want to make sure that we carefully explore all
possible financing options. And, as a company with sizable
operations in the United States, it makes sense for us to examine
the terms and conditions which may be available under the US
government's TARP program." In recent months, AEGON has taken
measures to strengthen its capital position. These measures
include: - Steps to reduce risk and release capital from the
company's businesses; - Foregoing payment of the final dividend to
common shareholders for 2008; - Securing EUR 3 billion in
additional core capital from the Dutch State, of which EUR 1
billion is repayable, at AEGON's option, within one year. As a
result of these measures, AEGON has a capital buffer significantly
in excess of AA rating requirements. In the third quarter, AEGON
released EUR 729 million in additional capital from its businesses.
The company expects to free up another EUR 600 million to EUR 800
million in the fourth quarter. AEGON is one of the world's largest
life insurance and pension groups, and a strong provider of
investment products. AEGON empowers local business units to
identify and provide products and services that meet the evolving
needs of customers, using distribution channels best suited to
local markets. AEGON takes pride in balancing a local approach with
the power of an expanding global operation. With headquarters in
The Hague, the Netherlands, AEGON companies employ almost 32,000
people worldwide. AEGON's businesses serve millions of customers in
over twenty markets throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Respect, quality, transparency and trust constitute AEGON's core
values as the company continually strives to meet the expectations
of customers, shareholders, employees and business partners. AEGON
is driven to deliver new thinking with the ambition to be the best
in the industry. Forward-looking statements The statements
contained in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that
identify such forward-looking statements: believe, estimate,
target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting
on, plan, continue, want, forecast, should, would, is confident,
will, and similar expressions as they relate to our company. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely
reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results
may differ materially from expectations conveyed in forward-looking
statements due to changes caused by various risks and
uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not
limited to the following: - Changes in general economic conditions,
particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom; - Changes in the performance of financial markets,
including emerging markets, such as with regard to: - The frequency
and severity of defaults by issuers in our fixed income investment
portfolios; and - The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or
accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting
decline in the value of equity and debt securities we hold; - The
frequency and severity of insured loss events; - Changes affecting
mortality, morbidity and other factors that may impact the
profitability of our insurance products; - Changes affecting
interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing
interest rate levels; - Changes affecting currency exchange rates,
in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates; - Increasing
levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the
United Kingdom and emerging markets; - Changes in laws and
regulations, particularly those affecting our operations, the
products we sell, and the attractiveness of certain products to our
consumers; - Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry
in the jurisdictions in which we operate; - Acts of God, acts of
terrorism, acts of war and pandemics; - Changes in the policies of
central banks and/or governments; - Litigation or regulatory action
that could require us to pay significant damages or change the way
we do business; - Customer responsiveness to both new products and
distribution channels; - Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax
changes that affect the distribution cost of or demand for our
products; - Our failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings
or operational efficiencies as well as other cost saving
initiatives; and - The impact our adoption of the International
Financial Reporting Standards may have on our reported financial
results and financial condition. Group Corporate Communications
& Investor Relations Media relations Phone: +31(0)70-344-8956
E-mail: Investor relations Phone: +31(0)70-344-8305 or
+1-877-548-9668 - toll free USA only E-mail: Website
http://www.aegon.com/ DATASOURCE: AEGON N.V. CONTACT: Group
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Media relations,
Phone: +31(0)70-344-8956, E-mail: ; Investor relations, Phone:
+31(0)70-344-8305 or +1-877-548-9668 - toll free USA only, E-mail:
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