58 As in 2009, the Chairman of AEGON’s Supervisory  Board, Rob Routs and two members of the Supervisory  Board met with the Director of the Dutch Central Bank to  discuss the company’s capital position and strategy. The Board assessed the performance of members of the  Executive Board during the same meeting. Supervisory Board Committees Appointments to the Supervisory and  Executive Boards Legal and compliance The Audit Committee The Supervisory Board requires its four Committees to  prepare specific issues for decision-making by the Board.  Each of these Committees is made up of members  exclusively drawn from the Supervisory Board itself. In  accordance with its Charter, each Committee reports its  findings to the Supervisory Board during a subsequent  Supervisory Board meeting. In February, the Supervisory Board agreed that  share holders would be asked to approve the  reappointment of Mr. K.J. Storm for a new term of four  years as a member of the Supervisory Board. There were  no new appointments of members of the Executive  Board. This proposal was accepted by shareholders  at their annual General Meeting in April 2010.  The Audit Committee held seven meetings in 2010, one  of which was a combined meeting with the Supervisory  Board’s Risk Committee. The meetings were attended by  AEGON’s Chief Financial Officer, the head of the  Corporate Financial Center and the internal auditor.  Representatives from Ernst & Young, AEGON’s external  auditor, also attended most of these meetings. Officials  from AEGON’s Group Risk and the Actuarial departments  were present at some meetings of the Audit Committee.  In 2010, discussions focused on the following topics:  the quarterly results, the annual accounts and the audit  process, AEGON’s 2009 Embedded Value Report and  annual VNB figures, actuarial analyses, accounting  principles as defined by International Financial  Reporting Standards (IFRS), financial reports filed with  the Securities and Exchange Commission, capital  updates, internal control systems and compliance, the  external auditor’s engagement letter and the audit plan  for 2010, tax planning and IT applications. During most  meetings closed sessions were held with the internal and  external auditors in the absence of management. During 2010, the Supervisory Board and the Audit  Committee discussed various issues of compliance,  regulatory and legal issues in Europe, the United States  and Asia.  The Board was regularly updated on operational issues  that had surfaced in the company’s administration of  policies in the United Kingdom. It noted that AEGON UK  took the initiative to notify its regulatory authority  and implement a program to deal with the issues.  As part of the program, AEGON UK identified impacted  customers and took steps to return those customers to  the financial position they would have been in had the  issue not occured. It also noted that AEGON UK has  since put in place more stringent controls to prevent  similar issues occurring in the future.  During the year, management and the Audit Committee  carried out an in-depth assessment of Ernst & Young’s  performance, quality, cost levels and independence, as  required pursuant to the Dutch Corporate Governance  Code. The assessment resulted in a recommendation by  the Audit Committee to the Supervisory Board that  shareholders be asked to reappoint Ernst & Young for  the 2010 financial year. The Committee also confirmed  that Shemaya Levy and Ben van der Veer qualify as  financial experts within the terms and conditions of both  the Dutch Corporate Governance Code and the Sarbanes  Oxley Act in the United States.  Educational session and Board review  In November, the Board extensively discussed the potential  implications of Solvency II for AEGON’s business and  products during its annual educational session.  The Supervisory Board carried out an extensive board  evaluation review during the second half of 2010 on  the basis of written questionnaires and interviews. The  review assessed the performance of individual members,  as well as the collective performance of the Board and  its Committees. The review of the Chairman was carried  out by the Vice Chairman, who collected input from all  other Supervisory Board members. The results were  consolidated and discussed in a meeting in the absence  of management. This year’s assessment did not involve  any external consultant. There were no major findings.  The Board discussed the composition and the size of  the Board and compiled an inventory of the topics  Board members wanted to put on the agenda for 2011.  The internal auditor attended most meetings of the  Audit Committee during 2010 and provided quarterly  updates on his activities. During the meetings, the 