AEGON N.V. - Summary of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
April 22 2009 - 9:16AM
PR Newswire (US)
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- -
Jan Nooitgedagt Appointed as Member of the Executive Board;
Succeeds Jos Streppel as CFO - Alex Wynaendts Reviews AEGON's
Position in Financial Turmoil - Dudley Eustace Reappointed to the
Supervisory Board, Extending his Chairmanship to 2010 - Dividend
2008 - Resolutions of the AGM Jan J. Nooitgedagt has officially
been appointed as a member of the Executive Board of AEGON N.V.
following the Group's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM),
held today in The Hague. Mr. Nooitgedagt succeeds Joseph B.M.
Streppel as chief financial officer effective immediately. Mr.
Streppel announced last January his intention to retire after more
than 35 years with AEGON, and as CFO for the past ten years. "I am
pleased and honored to be joining AEGON as chief financial officer
and a member of the Executive Board. While these are indeed
challenging times for the global insurance industry and financial
sector in general, I look forward to working closely with Alex
Wynaendts to position AEGON for the opportunities that lie ahead,
building on the solid foundation which has been established in
recent years", said Jan Nooitgedagt. Alex Wynaendts comments on
financial turmoil "During 2008, we took decisive steps to
strengthen AEGON's position in the financial crisis which continues
to threaten market and consumer confidence. We are confident that
our actions to enhance AEGON's capital position, reduce costs, and
put into place sufficient contingencies to withstand further market
distress are the right ones to deal with the adverse effects we
have experienced. There can be no question about AEGON's ability to
fulfill its long-term obligations to its customers. Moreover, we
are committed to returning to an era of growth and value creation
for our shareholders as market conditions normalize." Dudley
Eustace reappointed to the Supervisory Board until 2010 As
announced earlier, given the recent changes in the composition of
the Supervisory Board, it was deemed prudent to request Dudley
Eustace to remain on as Chairman for an additional year, beyond his
term which expires this year in order to ensure continuity. Mr.
Eustace has agreed to this request. As such, a resolution has been
put to shareholders for their approval at today's AGM to reappoint
Mr. Eustace to the Supervisory Board for one year. Rob Routs will
succeed Mr. Eustace as Chairman of the Supervisory Board at the AGM
in April 2010. Dividend 2008 As part of broader measures to
preserve capital in light of the global financial crisis, AEGON
decided to make no final dividend payment on its common shares. In
September 2008, AEGON paid an interim dividend of EUR 0.30 a share.
Resolutions of the AGM The decisions taken by the shareholders at
the AGM include the following: Supervisory Board changes in
composition Mr. S. Levy was reappointed as a member of the
Supervisory Board for a term of four years as of April 22, 2009.
Mr. A.W.H. Docters van Leeuwen was appointed as a member of the
Supervisory Board for a term of four years as of April 22, 2009.
Mr. W.F.C. Stevens has stepped down as member of the Supervisory
Board. Executive Board changes in composition At the end of the
AGM, Mr. J.B.M. Streppel stepped down as member of the Executive
Board and CFO. Mr. J.J. Nooitgedagt succeeded Mr. Streppel as
member of the Executive Board and CFO for a term of four years as
of April 22, 2009. Annual accounts The AGM adopted the annual
accounts for the financial year 2008 and the members of the
Executive Board and Supervisory Board were released from liability
for their duties. Authorization Executive Board The AGM has
authorized the Executive Board to issue common shares, to
restrict/exclude pre-emptive rights upon issuing common shares and
to acquire shares in the company. As an international life
insurance, pension and investment company based in The Hague, AEGON
has businesses in over twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and
Asia. AEGON companies employ approximately 31,500 people and have
over 40 million customers across the globe. Key figures 2008 2007
Underlying earnings before tax EUR 1.57 billion EUR 2.64 billion
New life sales EUR 2.63 billion EUR 3.27 billion Gross deposits EUR
40.75 billion EUR 44.53 billion Revenue generating investments (At
December 31) EUR 332 billion EUR 370 billion 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. Further details
of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the company are
described in the company's filings with Euronext Amsterdam and the
US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report
on Form 20-F. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or
regulation, the company 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 the company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based. Group Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Media relations Greg Tucker +31(0)70-344-8956 E-mail: Investor
relations Gerbrand Nijman +31(0)70-3448305 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: Greg Tucker,
+31(0)70-344-8956, E-mail: ; Investor relations: Gerbrand Nijman,
+31(0)70-3448305 or +1-877-548-9668 - toll free USA only, E-mail:
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