23 ANNUAL REPORT 2010   OUR BUSINESSES  INTERVIEW WITH THE CFO 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?  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? What’s your outlook for AEGON over the next few years? Europe is moving toward a new regulatory framework for  insurers, Solvency II. How are you preparing for that? Jan Nooitgedagt Chief Financial Officer and Member of AEGON’s  Executive Board 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. 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  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. 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.  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.  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. SHARPENING OUR FOCUS