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## You have a substantial capital buffer. Could you tell us why it is so important, and outline the steps you have taken to achieve this? 

As the recent financial crisis underlined, we need to maintain a substantial capital buffer to ensure that AEGON’s balance sheet can withstand volatile market conditions. It is important for our customers to know that AEGON will deliver on its promises even under stressed circumstances. At the end of 2010, AEGON’s excess capital was EUR 3.8 billion above AA capital adequacy requirements. This is also important because it will enable us to fund part of the repurchase of core capital from the Dutch State. 

## On this subject, AEGON received EUR 3 billion of capital from the Dutch State at the height of the financial crisis. Since then you have repurchased EUR 2.25 billion. Will you be able to carry out your plan to repurchase all the remaining core capital securities from the Dutch State in 2011? 

We are committed to completing full repurchase by the end of June 2011. Our successful equity offering in February 2011, which we have completed via an accelerated book-build and which yielded EUR 0.9 billion, enabled us to repurchase EUR 750 million nominal value of core capital in March 2011. Repurchasing the remaining portion of core capital - using internal resources, including any divestments - is a key priority. 

## Europe is moving toward a new regulatory framework for insurers, Solvency II. How are you preparing for that? 

Solvency II is expected to come into effect in January 2013. The European Commission’s intention with the new framework is to ensure that the amount of capital an insurance company has to hold at any one time is linked directly to its risks, and to the nature of those risks. This should mean a better system for insurers, because it will reward strong risk management. Customers will benefit 

because the new framework will lead to a healthier industry, which holds capital for the actual risk it runs. 

At present, though, there is still some uncertainty about some of the wider implications. We believe that the new framework should ensure a level playing field for European insurers, both in the European Union and internationally. We are involved in the discussions to ensure that in the end this new framework is supportive of AEGON’s business ambitions. 

## What’s your outlook for AEGON over the next few years? 

AEGON is today a different company from what it was a few years ago. The financial crisis accelerated key aspects of our strategy. We have sharpened our focus on our core businesses of life insurance, pensions and asset management, we have improved our risk-return profile. At the same time, we have continued to free up capital to invest in markets where we believe we can achieve higher growth and greater returns and implemented measures to capture a broad range of operational efficiencies. We are a much better integrated company, globally and locally, and we will continue to look for more synergies. 

Our longer-term aim is to deliver sustainable earnings growth with an improved risk-return profile. We have set targets covering various metrics leading up to 2015. These include specific targets for growth of underlying earnings before tax, return on equity, improved operational cash flows and an increase in fee business as a percentage of our total business. We also intend to resume dividend payments in May 2012. 

Jan Nooitgedagt Chief Financial Officer and Member of AEGON’s Executive Board 

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