Aegon to hit 2015 targets despite crisis
DUTCH insurance group Aegon has reassured investors that it had not been blown off course by the Eurozone debt crisis and will meet its financial targets to 2015, as it kicked off a two-day investor conference in New York yesterday.
Aegon, which received a €3bn (£2.6bn) bailout in 2008 and has sold off non-core assets to de-risk its balance sheet since, will set out its strategy to cope with ongoing very low returns in capital markets.
“We welcome this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to delivering on our 2015 financial targets based on our current assumptions, despite the strong headwinds of the current economic environment,” said chief executive Alex Wynaendts. He said the firm was “taking decisive steps to offset the negative impacts of the market turmoil”.
Aegon will update investors on the turnaround at its huge US pensions business Transamerica. It sold off the reinsurance arm for $900m in April to refocus the firm on life insurance and pensions. It repaid its state bailout in June.