Aegon

Dutch insurer Aegon NV, which runs its U.S. operations from Baltimore, continued an acquisition streak this month with the purchase of a pension-fund management company in Poland and the buyout of a life insurance and benefits-consulting company outside Chicago. Aegon has been expanding its global footprint in the past year in such markets as China and Mexico, and the company has up to $2.6 billion in available capital that could be used to make acquisitions. Chairman Donald J. Shepard has said he is continually looking for strategic acquisitions to enter or grow in a market, though a large-scale deal might not be in the offing.

Baltimore's tallest building, at 100 Light St., is now the Transamerica Tower. Formerly called the Legg Mason Building, it was originally built as the headquarters of the United States Fidelity and Guaranty (USF&G) Company in 1973 - one of the cornerstones of the redeveloped Inner Harbor. Names of buildings used to be carved in stone, but with today's merger mania and the growth of multi-national corporations, building names can change as frequently as the seasons, causing confusion among residents, journalists and architectural historians.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Aegon NV, the Dutch insurance company whose North American headquarters is in Baltimore, said yesterday that it has taken a 3 billion-euro ($3.7 billion) investment from the Dutch government to shore up its cash position in the face of the continuing global financial crisis. The company also said it expected to post a loss of about 350 million euros ($436 million) in the third quarter and canceled dividends and executive bonuses for the rest of the year. "We welcome this additional capital buffer that the Dutch state has provided ... in this time of uncertainty and unprecedented economic turmoil," chief executive Alex Wynaendts said in a statement.

Dutch insurer Aegon's North American base in Baltimore will add more jobs next year when the company's Louisville, Ky., operations are consolidated with offices in the city and in Little Rock, Ark. The exact number of jobs that will relocate to Baltimore is unknown at this point, but Aegon spokesman Greg Tucker said Thursday that more jobs will likely move to Baltimore than to Little Rock. Of the 400 jobs in Louisville, the consolidation will affect 280 jobs. The information technology department of 120 people will remain there, Tucker said.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Aegon NV, one of the world's 20 largest insurance companies, said yesterday that it has offered to pay 2.7 billion kroner ($436 million) for Vital Forsikring AS, Norway's second-largest insurer.The offer, priced more than 40 percent above the value of Vital's shares before the announcement, was enthusiastically received by the Norwegian company, which will recommend shareholder approval.The acquisition would give Aegon, already active in the Netherlands, the United States and several European countries, a base for further expansion in Scandinavia.

NEW YORK -- Dutch insurer Aegon NV yesterday reported that its second-quarter profit fell 12 percent after gains from investments in equities, bonds and real estate declined. The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Baltimore, said its net income dropped to 664 million euros ($855 million), or 34 cents a share, from 751 million euros, or 41 cents a share, for the second quarter of 2005, beating analysts' estimates of 518 million euros. "Competition continues to be tough in all markets," Chief Executive Officer Donald J. Shepard said in a telephone interview.

Aegon N.V., the big Dutch insurer that operates its U.S. operations out of Baltimore, said yesterday that its earnings rose more than 9 percent to $226 million in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with the same quarter a year ago.Net income jumped 11.3 percent to $424 million for the first half of the year. The company earned 711.1 million guilders for the same period, up 15.7 percent from the same period in 1995."It is one of those periods where the numbers kind of speak for themselves," said Robert McGraw, Aegon's senior vice president and group treasurer.

Aegon N.V., the Dutch insurer with its U.S. headquarters in Baltimore, yesterday completed its acquisition of Providian Corp.'s insurance business in one of the largest insurance deals of its kind.Aegon said it paid $3.5 billion to Louisville, Ky.-based Providian, which retains its credit card business.The transaction, which was announced in December, increases Aegon's assets by about 25 percent to $130 billion, and it will make Baltimore-based Aegon USA the country's ninth largest life insurer in assets, up from 15th position.

Dutch insurance giant Aegon N.V., which operates its U.S. headquarters from Baltimore, said yesterday that earnings grew by 12.6 percent in the first quarter as worldwide operations hit on all cylinders.Aegon earned 325.6 million guilders in the quarter, or $198 million, and net income per share rose 11.8 percent to 1.23 guilders or 75 cents.Based in the Netherlands, Aegon operates Monumental Life Insurance Co. and Monumental General Insurance Group, which employ about 900 people in Maryland.

Aegon NV, the Dutch insurance giant that bases its U.S. operations in Baltimore, reported yesterday that profit fell 22 percent in the first quarter because of lower investment income, the falling dollar and corporate bond defaults. The company made $421 million, or 28 cents a share, in the first quarter, which ended March 31, compared with $540 million, or 39 cents a share, in the first quarter last year. Aegon's revenue rose 11 percent to $8.4 billion in the quarter, compared with $7.5 billion a year earlier.

AMSTERDAM - Aegon NV, the bailed-out Dutch insurer, reported a return to profit in the fourth quarter due to gains on investments, a better operating performance and fewer impairments on assets. Net profit was 393 million euros ($530 million), compared with a loss of 1.18 billion euros in the same period a year ago, during the financial crisis. In the Americas, where Aegon does more than half its business and owns the Transamerica company, operating profits were 201 million euros, from a loss of 1.17 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Federal banking regulators have told Crofton-based Suburban Federal Savings Bank that it must be sold by Friday or face a possible government takeover. The 53-year-old thrift has been trying to recover from losses on soured real-estate loans. In documents filed last week, the Office of Thrift Supervision ordered Suburban to merge with another institution or accept "appointment of a conservator or receiver." If Suburban were to be seized, it would be the first bank to fail in Maryland since 1992, the tail end of the savings and loan crisis.

Dutch insurer Aegon NV is exploring a bid to buy the troubled Suburban Federal Savings Bank in Crofton as a way of becoming eligible for money from the federal bank bailout plan. The insurance giant, with North American headquarters in Baltimore, was among four insurance companies that applied Friday to the federal Office of Thrift Supervision to become owners of a savings institution as a way to get funding from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program. OTS officials confirmed Aegon's interest in Suburban.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Aegon NV, the Dutch insurance company whose North American headquarters is in Baltimore, said yesterday that it has taken a 3 billion-euro ($3.7 billion) investment from the Dutch government to shore up its cash position in the face of the continuing global financial crisis. The company also said it expected to post a loss of about 350 million euros ($436 million) in the third quarter and canceled dividends and executive bonuses for the rest of the year. "We welcome this additional capital buffer that the Dutch state has provided ... in this time of uncertainty and unprecedented economic turmoil," chief executive Alex Wynaendts said in a statement.

Donald J. Shepard remembers taking over the reins of Dutch insurer Aegon NV during turbulent times for the insurance industry, which was suffering from high credit losses in the post 9/11 economy. Six years later, as he prepares to retire, the economy is in a mess again. This time, it's for different reasons - subprime mortgage problems. But despite beginning and ending his tenure as CEO in rocky economic times, Shepard said he feels he's left Aegon in better shape than he found it. "It's been a good time and we've continued to strengthen this company," he said in a phone interview from the Netherlands yesterday, as Aegon released earnings for the final time during his tenure.

Donald J. Shepard is the reason a major European insurer kept its North American headquarters in Baltimore. He lives in Baltimore, but he's the CEO of the Netherlands-based Aegon NV. So the announcement yesterday that Shepard plans to retire next year and pass the torch to current chief operating officer - and Dutch national - Alexander R. Wynaendts raised this question: Was Maryland about to lose an important international presence and the 1,000 or...

Aegon N.V., the large Dutch insurance company that employs about 800 people in Baltimore, reported yesterday that its third-quarter profit surged 28.4 percent, driven by increasing sales of life insurance, accident and health insurance and banking products.The company, which for the first time included San Francisco-based Transamerica Financial Corp. in its results, made $438 million in the third quarter that ended Sept. 30, or 68 cents per share, compared with $341 million, or 59 cents a share, in the corresponding period last year.

Aegon N.V., an international insurance company that has its U.S. headquarters in Baltimore, said its first-quarter profit soared by 24 percent, propelled by a savings boom in its Dutch home and by life and casualty insurance earnings in the United States.Aegon's business is improving so much that the company also boosted its profit-increase forecast for this year from 10 percent to 12 percent over last year to 15 percent.Besides better operating profits, favorable exchange rates and healthy stock markets also are helping, said Aegon Chairman Kees Storm.

Dutch insurer Aegon NV, which runs its U.S. operations from Baltimore, continued an acquisition streak this month with the purchase of a pension-fund management company in Poland and the buyout of a life insurance and benefits-consulting company outside Chicago. Aegon has been expanding its global footprint in the past year in such markets as China and Mexico, and the company has up to $2.6 billion in available capital that could be used to make acquisitions. Chairman Donald J. Shepard has said he is continually looking for strategic acquisitions to enter or grow in a market, though a large-scale deal might not be in the offing.

NEW YORK -- Dutch insurer Aegon NV yesterday reported that its second-quarter profit fell 12 percent after gains from investments in equities, bonds and real estate declined. The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Baltimore, said its net income dropped to 664 million euros ($855 million), or 34 cents a share, from 751 million euros, or 41 cents a share, for the second quarter of 2005, beating analysts' estimates of 518 million euros. "Competition continues to be tough in all markets," Chief Executive Officer Donald J. Shepard said in a telephone interview.