THE HAGUE, The Netherlands,
November 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Solid earnings supported by expense
savings - limited impact from
assumption changes and model updates
- Underlying earnings of EUR 461
million[*]; realized
expense savings and favorable equity markets were more than offset
by the effects of adverse US mortality experience and lower
interest rates
- Limited net impact from assumption changes and model updates of
EUR (81) million; all reported in
other charges[*]
- Net income of EUR 358 million;
gains from fair value items offset by other charges
- Return on equity increases to 7.7%
Sales growth driven by
fee-businesses - strong gross
deposits of EUR 25
billion
- Gross deposits increase by 19% to EUR 25
billion mainly from US retirement plans and asset
management. Net outflows of EUR 2.5
billion as a result of anticipated contract discontinuances
in business acquired from Mercer
- New life sales decline by 15% to EUR 219
million resulting from lower universal life sales and strict
pricing policy
- Accident & health and general insurance sales down by 5% to
EUR 218 million, mainly due to
product exits in US
- Market consistent value of new business decreases to
EUR 70 million due to lower interest
rates and VA sales
All capital metrics continue to be within target
ranges
- Solvency II ratio declined slightly during the third quarter to
an estimated 156% as a result of adverse market impacts; immaterial
impact on group ratio from assumption changes and model
updates
- Capital generation of EUR 0.3
billion excluding market impacts and one-time items of
EUR (0.2) billion
- Holding excess capital stable at EUR 1.1
billion as remittances from the units offset dividends to
shareholders
- Gross leverage ratio improves to 29.5% driven by retained
earnings
Statement of Alex Wynaendts, CEO
Throughout the third quarter, we further executed on our key
strategic objectives by successfully reducing our costs,
maintaining our strong capital position and growing our profitable
fee-based businesses. At the same time, we continue to invest in
new technologies to support our increased interaction
with customers, and in innovative products to address
their growing needs.
Aegon's Solvency II ratio remains strong and
our management actions enabled us to mitigate adverse market
impacts. While our annual assumption changes and model updates had
a limited impact on earnings, there was no impact on our capital
position or capital generation going forward. Earnings from our US
life insurance business continued to be volatile as a result of
higher than expected claims.
We are particularly pleased by gross deposits of EUR 25 billion during the quarter. In the US, the
integration of Mercer's defined contribution
retirement plan administration business is on track.
We did experience outflows following the
acquisition of this business, as
anticipated.
All-in-all, we are making continued
progress to deliver on our
strategic priorities aimed at positioning Aegon to
achieve growth and deliver value to all our
stakeholders.
Strategic highlights
- Aegon to exit Ukrainian market by selling Aegon Life Ukraine
to TAS Group
- Insurance consortium including Aegon launches the
Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative B3i
- Aegon maintains a leading position in
the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
- Transamerica announces a new retirement plan partnership
with Mercer
Aegon's ambition
Aegon's ambition is to be a trusted partner for financial solutions
at every stage of life, and to be recognized by its customers,
business partners and wider society as a company that puts the
interests of its customers first in everything it does. In
addition, Aegon wants to be regarded by its employees as an
employer of choice, engaging and enabling them to succeed. This
ambition is supported by four strategic objectives embedded in all
Aegon businesses: Optimized portfolio, Operational excellence,
Customer loyalty, and Empowered employees.
Optimized portfolio
On September 22, Aegon entered
into an agreement to sell 100% of its shares of Aegon Life Ukraine
to TAS Group, and will exit the Ukrainian market. The deal is
subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory
approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed by
January 2017.
With the aim to further capture growth opportunities in
Brazil, Mongeral Aegon and BANCOOB
(Banco Cooperativo do Brasil) received regulatory approval in
August 2016 to establish a joint
venture to provide life insurance and pension solutions within the
SICOOB System. SICOOB is the largest cooperative financial system
in the country, with almost 4 million associates and 2,200
points of service. BANCOOB is a private commercial bank owned by
the credit cooperative entities affiliated with the SICOOB system.
The joint venture represents a further expansion into bank
distribution for Mongeral Aegon, which already serves over 2.5
million customers nationwide through over 4,000 broker
partners.
Operational excellence
Aegon in conjunction with Allianz, Munich Re, Swiss Re and
Zurich launched the Blockchain
Insurance Industry Initiative, B3i. The initiative aims to explore
the potential of distributed ledger technologies to better serve
clients through faster, more convenient and secure services. If
Blockchain technology proves viable, it could streamline paper work
and reconciliations for (re-)insurance contracts and accelerate
information and money flows, while at the same time greatly
improving auditability. The initiative, which is open to other
insurers and reinsurers, is a pilot project that aims to achieve a
proof-of-concept for inter-group retrocessions by the use of
Blockchain technology. The founding members aim to develop
standards and processes for industry-wide usage, and to facilitate
the transition from individual company use cases to viable
solutions across the entire insurance value chain.
Aegon maintained its leading position in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index, with a score of 82 out of 100, compared with
an industry average of 50. The index tracks the performance of the
leading large companies worldwide on a variety of categories
including governance, remuneration, compliance, environmental
footprint and transparent reporting. Aegon again proved itself to
be one of the leading companies in its sector in terms of
sustainability, remaining in the top 10 percent of the financial
services industry. Aegon scored particularly well on its
commitments to the Principles for Sustainable Insurance, Risk
management, and Tax Policies and Practices. Aegon's new Global Tax
Policy and Principles of Conduct contributed to an increase of 14
percentage points in the Tax Strategy category.
Customer loyalty
Transamerica announced a new partnership with Mercer on
October 5 for Mercer's employer
clients. Mercer developed a solution for its employer clients that
enables them to transfer fiduciary responsibility. The company did,
however, need a partner to sell its new solution because Mercer
sold its recordkeeping business to Transamerica in 2015. The new
arrangement ensures that every plan for which Transamerica assumes
fiduciary responsibility will have relatively the same design and
pricing structure to minimize customization.
This innovative approach makes the products more efficient and
learnings from this new agreement can be applied to products
Transamerica offers directly to employers itself. The first plans
are expected to convert on January 1,
2017.
On September 19, Transamerica
launched the HigherEd Retirement
Consortium[SM], a new multiple
employer retirement plan designed to help private colleges and
universities merge their employee retirement plans. The new
solution assists employers by simplifying plan administration,
managing fiduciary responsibilities, taking advantage of expert
plan management, and receiving economies of scale in administrative
and investment pricing. The plan also offers an open architecture
investment platform with no proprietary fund requirements.
Empowered employees
Aegon's global 'Future Fit' strategy is empowering Aegon
employees to be fit for the new digital, connected and data-driven
world. Key areas of focus include enabling employees through
providing the infrastructure, tools and training needed to exceed
customers' expectations. Furthermore, initiatives such as the
Digital Accelerator Program in Aegon UK and Aegon Hungary, and the
Global Aegon Analytical Academy, an annual traineeship for
employees to enhance data analytical capabilities across the
company, illustrate how digital capabilities and expertise are
being improved across the company.
Aegon's Digital Center of Excellence held its first ever
Hackathon, a 24 hour pop-up initiative that provided 36 Aegon
employees from Europe and
Asia an opportunity to work
together and collaborate on innovate new digital initiatives. The
event enabled Aegon's employees to think and act like they were
working for a technology start-up company, by allowing them to
freely conceptualize, design and pitch prototypes of their ideas to
investors for funding. At the conclusion of the event, eight viable
digital and data-driven initiatives were identified for further
development and potential implementation within various business
units.
Key performance indicators
YTD YTD
EUR millions [11b],[ 11c] Notes Q3 2016 Q2 2016 % Q3 2015 % 2016 2015 %
Underlying earnings
before tax * 1 461 435 6 495 (7) 1,359 1,432 (5)
Net income / (loss) 358 (385) - (551) - 116 57 103
Sales 2 2,904 2,765 5 2,564 13 9,229 7,524 23
Market consistent value
of new business 3 70 100 (30) 125 (44) 302 448 (33)
Return on equity 4 7.7% 6.8% 14 7.6% 2 7.2% 7.2% 1
* In Q3 2016 the results from actuarial assumption updates will be reported as
part of 'Other income/(charges)'.
Previously, these impacts were reflected in underlying earnings or fair value items.
The comparative numbers have been updated to reflect this change.
Financial overview
EUR millions Notes Q3 2016 Q2 2016 % Q3 2015 % YTD 2016 YTD 2015 %
Underlying earnings
before tax
Americas 307 270 14 339 (9) 860 986 (13)
Europe 151 160 (6) 137 11 481 417 15
Asia 6 1 - 18 (65) 8 17 (55)
Asset Management 32 37 (12) 40 (19) 114 132 (14)
Holding and other (35) (33) (7) (38) 8 (105) (122) 14
Underlying earnings
before tax 461 435 6 495 (7) 1,359 1,432 (5)
Fair value items 84 (358) - (161) - (632) (612) (3)
Realized gains / (losses)
on investments 21 229 (91) 36 (40) 305 288 6
Net impairments 6 (23) - (12) - (53) (15) -
Other income / (charges) (72) (656) 89 (988) 93 (734) (999) 27
Run-off businesses 8 18 (55) 35 (76) 55 68 (19)
Income before tax 510 (355) - (595) - 300 161 87
Income tax (152) (30) - 44 - (183) (103) (77)
Net income / (loss) 358 (385) - (551) - 116 57 103
Net income / (loss)
attributable to:
Equity holders of Aegon N.V. 358 (385) - (551) - 116 57 105
Net underlying earnings 349 312 12 387 (10) 1,012 1,100 (8)
Commissions and expenses 1,638 1,589 3 1,540 6 4,971 5,072 (2)
of which operating expenses 9 900 926 (3) 912 (1) 2,786 2,737 2
New life sales
Life single premiums 479 489 (2) 686 (30) 1,578 2,262 (30)
Life recurring premiums
annualized 171 195 (12) 190 (10) 571 605 (6)
Total recurring plus 1/10
single 219 244 (10) 259 (15) 729 832 (12)
New life sales 10
Americas 127 138 (8) 148 (14) 409 447 (8)
Europe 64 75 (14) 69 (6) 224 238 (6)
Asia 28 31 (9) 42 (33) 96 147 (34)
Total recurring plus 1/10
single 219 244 (10) 259 (15) 729 832 (12)
New premium production
accident and health insurance 198 199 - 212 (6) 658 747 (12)
New premium production general
insurance 20 27 (25) 18 14 71 59 20
Gross deposits
(on and off balance) 10
Americas 9,375 9,265 1 7,868 19 32,112 28,488 13
Europe 2,769 3,088 (10) 2,595 7 9,298 8,381 11
Asia 83 94 (12) 52 60 250 345 (28)
Asset Management 12,442 10,506 18 10,240 22 36,040 21,643 67
Total gross deposits 24,669 22,953 7 20,756 19 77,700 58,857 32
Net deposits
(on and off balance) 10
Americas (3,711) (56) - 711 - 1,058 7,028 (85)
Europe (41) 159 - (190) 79 849 527 61
Asia 69 80 (14) 40 72 208 303 (31)
Asset Management 1,380 1,046 32 3,505 (61) 4,666 6,574 (29)
Total net deposits excluding
run-off businesses (2,303) 1,229 - 4,065 - 6,781 14,432 (53)
Run-off businesses (237) (103) (129) (294) 20 (580) (618) 6
Total net deposits / (outflows) (2,539) 1,125 - 3,771 - 6,201 13,814 (55)
Revenue-generating investments
Sep. 30, Jun. 30, Dec. 31,
2016 2016 % 2015 %
Revenue-generating investments (total) 723,485 716,746 1 710,458 2
Investments general account 159,053 159,933 (1) 160,792 (1)
Investments for account of policyholders 197,493 194,512 2 200,226 (1)
Off balance sheet investments third parties 366,939 362,301 1 349,440 5
Operational highlights
Actuarial and economic assumption changes and model
updates
Aegon reviews its actuarial and economic assumptions annually in
the third quarter. In addition, as part of an ongoing commitment to
deliver operational excellence, the company reviews and refines its
models where necessary. These assumption changes and model updates
on balance accounted for charges of EUR 81
million in the third quarter of 2016. As of this quarter,
actuarial and economic assumption changes and model updates are all
included in other income / (charges). These items were previously
reported across underlying earnings, fair value items and other
income / (charges). Presenting the impacts from assumption changes
and model updates in one place improves transparency of Aegon's
results. The comparative numbers have been updated to reflect this
change.
Underlying earnings before tax
Aegon's underlying earnings before tax in the third quarter of 2016
declined by 7% compared with the third quarter of 2015 to
EUR 461 million. Expense savings and
favorable market impacts were more than offset by adverse claims
experience in the United States
and negative adjustments to intangible assets related to lower than
anticipated reinvestment yields. Adverse claims experience and
lower than anticipated reinvestment yields in the third quarter of
2016 amounted to EUR 13 million and EUR 23 million,
respectively.
Underlying earnings from the Americas declined to EUR 307 million. This was caused by adverse
mortality experience and the negative adjustment to intangible
assets related to lower than anticipated reinvestment yields, which
more than offset the effects of favorable morbidity experience,
favorable equity markets, and reduced expenses. The latter was
driven by the benefit from management actions leading to expense
savings.
In Europe, underlying earnings
increased to EUR 151 million. This
increase was driven by lower amortization of deferred policy
acquisition costs (DPAC) in the United
Kingdom following the write down of DPAC related to
upgrading customers to the retirement platform in the fourth
quarter of 2015.
The result from Aegon's operations in Asia was down to EUR 6
million, as favorable mortality was more than offset by the
negative impact from lower than anticipated investment yields.
Underlying earnings from Aegon Asset Management declined to
EUR 32 million, mainly as a result of
increased expenses due to continued investments in the growth
strategy in addition to lower management fees and unfavorable
currency movements.
The result from the holding improved to a loss of EUR 35 million, resulting from lower funding
costs after the redemption of a senior bond in December 2015.
Net income
Net income amounted to EUR 358
million. Other charges as a result of assumption changes and
model updates were more than offset by gains from fair value
items.
Fair value items
The result from fair value items totaled EUR 84 million. This was mainly driven by credit
spread tightening and favorable investment returns in the United States and positive real estate
revaluations in the
Netherlands.
Realized gains on investments
Realized gains on investments decreased to EUR 21 million. Gains on the sale of assets
related to the divestment of the annuity book in the United Kingdom and normal trading activity
more than offset losses in the Americas.
Impairment charges
Net recoveries of EUR 6 million for
the quarter were the result of net recoveries in the Americas which
more than offset impairments on the consumer loan portfolio in
the Netherlands.
Other charges
Other charges amounted to EUR 72
million as a result of the net impact of assumption changes,
model updates and other items. A charge of EUR 81 million has been recorded in other charges
in respect of assumption changes and model updates. The impact is
mainly attributable to Aegon's businesses in the US. Assumption
changes and model updates in the US from long-term care led to a
net negative impact of EUR 100
million. These were the result of experience updates
including morbidity, termination rates and utilization assumptions.
For the other business lines in the US, assumption changes and
model updates largely offset each other. The main items were the
refinement of modelling of crediting rates on indexed universal
life policies and management actions, which together offset lower
lapse assumptions on certain secondary guarantee universal life
insurance blocks. Furthermore, model updates in the guarantee
provision resulted in a benefit of EUR 28
million in the
Netherlands.
Run-off businesses
Earnings from run-off businesses declined to EUR 8 million due to unfavorable mortality
experience in the payout annuities block and a lower result in the
reinsurance line of business.
Income tax
Income tax amounted to EUR 152
million in the third quarter, which is in line with the
average nominal tax rate for the group. The effective tax rate on
underlying earnings was 24%.
Return on equity
Return on equity increased to 7.7% in the third quarter of 2016,
as lower net underlying earnings were more than offset by lower
shareholders' equity as a result of capital returned to
shareholders and the write down of DPAC related to upgrading
customers to the UK retirement platform in the fourth quarter of
2015.
Operating expenses
Operating expenses decreased by 1% compared with the third
quarter of 2015 to EUR 900 million.
Lower operating expenses in the Americas resulted from expense
savings, and lower sales-related and other variable operating
expenses. This was partly offset by the acquisition of Mercer's
defined contribution business in the
United States, expenses related to the acquisitions of
Cofunds and BlackRock's defined contribution business in the
United Kingdom, and higher
Solvency II-related expenses and investments in new business
initiatives in the
Netherlands.
Sales
Aegon's total sales increased by 13% to EUR 2.9 billion in the third quarter of 2016.
This increase was the result of higher gross deposits, which were
up 19% to EUR 24.7 billion.
Retirement Plans deposits increased due to the inclusion of
deposits in the business acquired from Mercer, in addition to
higher takeover and recurring deposits. Asset Management deposits
increased mainly due to higher recognized gross deposits in Aegon's
Chinese asset management joint venture in addition to higher
inflows in the Netherlands and in
the Americas. Net outflows amounted to EUR
2.5 billion and were mainly driven by net outflows on the
business acquired from Mercer. The latter is in line with the
anticipated lapse behavior when acquiring a block of retirement
business.
New life sales declined by 15% to EUR 219
million, mainly driven by Aegon's adherence to its strict
pricing policy in the current low interest rate environment. In
addition, universal life sales were impacted by new sales force
training programs, which led to a decline in the recruitment of new
agents. In the longer term these programs should have a favorable
impact on sales. New premium production for accident & health
and general insurance was down by 5% to EUR
218 million due to product exits in the United States.
Market consistent value of new business
The market consistent value of new business declined to
EUR 70 million. This was mainly due
to the negative impact from lower interest rates and lower variable
annuity sales following the product adjustments implemented last
year.
Revenue-generating investments
Revenue-generating investments were up 1% during the third
quarter of 2016 to EUR 723 billion,
as net outflows were more than offset by favorable market
movements.
Capital management
Shareholders' equity declined by EUR 0.8
billion compared with the end of the previous quarter to
EUR 21.1 billion on September 30, 2016, mainly as a result of lower
revaluation reserves. Aegon's shareholders' equity, excluding
revaluation reserves and defined benefit plan remeasurements,
increased to EUR 16.3 billion - or
EUR 7.84 per common share - at the
end of the third quarter. Net income for the quarter more than
offset the payment of the 2016 interim dividend. The gross leverage
ratio improved to 29.5% in the third quarter, driven by retained
earnings.
Holding excess capital remained stable at EUR 1.1 billion as net remittances from the units
and a tax benefit offset dividends paid to shareholders and holding
operating expenses.
Capital generation of the operating units excluding market
impacts and one-time items amounted to EUR
0.3 billion in the third quarter of 2016. Market impacts in
the quarter amounted to EUR (0.3)
billion, mainly due to the effects of lower interest rates
and credit spreads on Aegon's own employee pension plan provisions
in the United Kingdom and
the Netherlands, and a lower
benefit from the volatility adjuster. One-time items amounted to
EUR 0.2 billion, which were driven by
management actions in the
Netherlands and implementation of a XXX reserve financing
solution with an external reinsurer. Assumption changes and model
updates had an immaterial impact on the capital generation, as the
benefits from assumption changes and model updates in the United States and updated longevity
assumptions in the United Kingdom
were offset by the implementation of updated longevity assumptions
in the Netherlands. Capital
generation including market impacts and one-time items amounted to
EUR 0.1 billion for the quarter.
Aegon's Solvency II ratio decreased slightly to an estimated
156% in the third quarter as adverse market impacts and the interim
2016 dividend more than offset management actions and capital
generation.
Full version press release
Use this link for the full version of the press
release.
Additional information
The Hague -
November 10, 2016
Presentation
The conference call presentation is available on aegon.com as of
7.30 a.m. CET.
Supplements
Aegon's Q3 2016 Financial Supplement and Condensed Consolidated
Interim Financial Statements
are available on aegon.com.
Conference call including Q&A
9:00 a.m. CET
Audio webcast on aegon.com
Dial-in numbers
United States: +1 719 457
1036
United Kingdom: +44 203 043
2002
The Netherlands: +31 20 721
9251
Passcode: 2727072
Two hours after the conference call, a replay will be available
on aegon.com.
DISCLAIMERS
Cautionary note regarding non-IFRS measures
This document includes the following non-IFRS financial
measures: underlying earnings before tax, income tax, income before
tax, market consistent value of new business and return on equity.
These non-IFRS measures are calculated by consolidating on a
proportionate basis Aegon's joint ventures and associated
companies. The reconciliation of these measures, except for market
consistent value of new business, to the most comparable IFRS
measure is provided in note 3 'Segment information' of Aegon's
Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements. Market
consistent value of new business is not based on IFRS, which are
used to report Aegon's primary financial statements and should not
be viewed as a substitute for IFRS financial measures. Aegon may
define and calculate market consistent value of new business
differently than other companies. Return on equity is a ratio using
a non-IFRS measure and is calculated by dividing the net underlying
earnings after cost of leverage by the average shareholders'
equity, the revaluation reserve and the reserves related to defined
benefit plans. Aegon believes that these non-IFRS measures,
together with the IFRS information, provide meaningful information
about the underlying operating results of Aegon's business
including insight into the financial measures that senior
management uses in managing the business.
Local currencies and constant currency exchange
rates
This document contains certain information about Aegon's
results, financial condition and revenue generating investments
presented in USD for the Americas and Asia, and in GBP for the United Kingdom, because those businesses
operate and are managed primarily in those currencies. Certain
comparative information presented on a constant currency basis
eliminates the effects of changes in currency exchange rates. None
of this information is a substitute for or superior to financial
information about Aegon presented in EUR, which is the currency of
Aegon's primary financial statements.
Forward-looking statements
The statements contained in this document 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: aim,
believe, estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate,
predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast,
goal, should, would, is confident, will, and similar expressions as
they relate to Aegon. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that
are difficult to predict. Aegon undertakes 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 Aegon's
fixed income investment portfolios;
- 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 Aegon holds; and
- The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain private
sector securities and the resulting decline in the value of
sovereign exposure that Aegon holds;
- Changes in the performance of Aegon's investment portfolio and
decline in ratings of Aegon's counterparties;
- Consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the
euro;
- Consequences of the anticipated exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union;
- The frequency and severity of insured loss events;
- Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence
and other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegon's
insurance products;
- Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting
risks may fail to meet their obligations;
- 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;
- Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with,
liquidity sources such as bank and capital markets funding, as well
as conditions in the credit markets in general such as changes in
borrower and counterparty creditworthiness;
- Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and emerging markets;
- Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting
Aegon's operations' ability to hire and retain key personnel,
taxation of Aegon companies, the products Aegon sells, and the
attractiveness of certain products to its consumers;
- Regulatory changes relating to the pensions, investment, and
insurance industries in the jurisdictions in which Aegon
operates;
- Standard setting initiatives of supranational standard setting
bodies such as the Financial Stability Board and the International
Association of Insurance Supervisors or changes to such standards
that may have an impact on regional (such as EU), national or US
federal or state level financial regulation or the application
thereof to Aegon, including the designation of Aegon by the
Financial Stability Board as a Global Systemically Important
Insurer (G-SII).
- Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general
related to, among other things, the type of products Aegon sells,
including legal, regulatory or commercial necessity to meet
changing customer expectations;
- Acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics;
- Changes in the policies of central banks and/or
governments;
- Lowering of one or more of Aegon's debt ratings issued by
recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action
may have on Aegon's ability to raise capital and on its liquidity
and financial condition;
- Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings
of Aegon's insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such
action may have on the premium writings, policy retention,
profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries;
- The effect of the European Union's Solvency II requirements and
other regulations in other jurisdictions affecting the capital
Aegon is required to maintain;
- Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay
significant damages or change the way Aegon does business;
- As Aegon's operations support complex transactions and are
highly dependent on the proper functioning of information
technology, a computer system failure or security breach may
disrupt Aegon's business, damage its reputation and adversely
affect its results of operations, financial condition and cash
flows;
- Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution
channels;
- Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect
profitability, the distribution cost of or demand for Aegon's
products;
- Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by
Aegon in applying such regulations and policies, voluntarily or
otherwise, which may affect Aegon's reported results and
shareholders' equity;
- Aegon's projected results are highly sensitive to complex
mathematical models of financial markets, mortality, longevity, and
other dynamic systems subject to shocks and unpredictable
volatility. Should assumptions to these models later prove
incorrect, or should errors in those models escape the controls in
place to detect them, future performance will vary from projected
results;
- The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings,
product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Aegon's
ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated
results and synergies from acquisitions;
- Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, could result
in material losses and significantly interrupt Aegon's business;
and
- Aegon's failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or
operational efficiencies as well as other cost saving and excess
capital and leverage ratio management initiatives.
- This press release contains information that qualifies, or may
qualify, as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1)
of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting
Aegon are described in its filings with the Netherlands Authority
for the Financial Markets and the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the Annual Report. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as
required by any applicable law or regulation, Aegon expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in Aegon's expectations with regard
thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on
which any such statement is based.
Media relations
Debora de Laaf
+31(0)70-344-8730
gcc@aegon.com
Investor relations
Willem van den Berg
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