Business overview  Results of operations – Americas 36 Annual Report 2013 In August 2011, Aegon completed the divestment of its life  reinsurance business, Transamerica Reinsurance, to SCOR,  a global reinsurance company based in France. Under the  GICs and FAs are spread-based products issued on a fixed-rate  or floating-rate basis. They provide the customer a guarantee of  Guaranteed investment contracts (GICs) were generally issued to  tax qualified plans, while FAs and MTNs were typically issued to  non-tax qualified institutional investors. Institutional spread-based business This business was put into run-off during 2009. The primary  products included guaranteed investment contracts (GICs),  funding agreements (FAs), and medium term notes (MTNs). Clark Consulting specializes in the servicing and administration of  bank-owned life insurance. Clark Consulting’s relationships and  service model help maintain strong persistency for the block of  business. Aegon USA services life insurance products sold to the bank- and  corporate-owned life insurance (BOLI/COLI) market in the United  States. BOLI/COLI helps institutional customers fund long-term  employee benefits such as executive compensation and post- retirement medical plans. The corporation insures key employees  and is the owner and beneficiary of the policies. New sales of  BOLI/COLI were discontinued in 2010. Aegon’s business in Latin America comprises a 50% interest  in Mongeral Aegon Seguros e Previdência S.A., a Brazilian  independent life insurer, and a 49% interest in Seguros Argos  S.A. de C.V., a Mexican life insurance company. Mongeral  Aegon’s insurance activities include pension product distribution,  individual and group life insurance products, and administrative  services. Seguros Argos’s primary product is a twenty-year  term life insurance product. Both insurance companies  distribute their products in the worksite market. In December  2013, Aegon became a 50% owner of a joint venture with  Adminstradora Akaan S.A. de C.V. to create Akaan-Aegon  S.A.P.I. de C.V. to explore financial service opportunities. This  organization will initially focus on third party asset management. Payout annuities are a form of immediate annuity. Aegon USA  no longer issues these contracts, but continues to administer  the closed block of business. These contracts were typically  purchased as a result of a lawsuit or claim, with the injured  party receiving special tax treatment. Rather than paying the  injured party a lump sum, the payments were structured as  a lifetime annuity with mortality risk, a period certain annuity, or  a combination of both. Aegon USA utilized consolidated special purpose entities to issue  MTNs that are backed by FAs. The proceeds of each note series  were used to purchase an FA from an Aegon insurance company,  which was used to secure that particular series of notes. The  payment terms of any particular series substantially matched the  payment terms of the FA that secured that series. For those individual plan participants who are in transition  due to a lay-off, job change or planned retirement,  Transamerica Retirement Solutions provides personal  retirement services by telephone through a team of experienced  registered representatives and investment advisors. In addition,  Transamerica Retirement Solutions provides pre-retirees  guidance and decision support to transition to and through  retirement. Transamerica Retirement Solutions offers a variety  of solutions, including Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs),  advisory services, annuities and access to other insurance related  products and resources. Each "plan for retirement" can be  tailored to the goals and needs of the individual.  Transamerica Retirement Solutions also offers single premium  group annuities in the United States, which are used by  companies to decrease the liability of their defined benefit plans.  The market is growing in this segment as more employers look to  reduce the cost and complexity of their pension liabilities, often  driven by widespread economic and sector restructuring. Transamerica Retirement Solutions’ retirement plan products  and services are distributed through intermediaries such as  retirement plan advisors, benefit consultants, and financial  planners. Transamerica Retirement Solutions works closely with  strategic alliance relationships and more broadly with many  broker-dealers. principal and a specified rate of return. Some spread products  were issued by pledging, selling with the intent to repurchase,  or lending investment securities that serve as collateral to these  products. Practically all of the liabilities represented by the  fixed-rate contracts were effectively converted to a floating-rate  via swap agreements, and contracts issued in foreign currencies  were converted at issuance to US dollars through swap  agreements to eliminate currency risk. Usually, credited interest  on floating-rate contracts resets on a monthly basis to various  market indices. The term of the contract may be fixed, generally  from six months to ten years, or have an indefinite maturity.  Market-indexed contracts provide a return based on the market  performance of a published index designated in the contract.  Futures or swap contracts are used to hedge the market risk on  market-indexed contracts and effectively convert such contracts  to a floating-rate. Medium-term notes Payout annuities Latin America Bank- and corporate-owned life insurance Run-off businesses Guaranteed investment contracts and funding agreements Life reinsurance