Donald J. Shepard, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board of Aegon N.V. stated, "We are delighted to fulfill our intention to enter Romania with such a strong and respected partner as Banca Transilvania."
Aegon and Banca Transilvania have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop and operate a mandatory pension company in Romania. The 50-50 joint venture company will be established during the summer of 2007 in anticipation of the mandatory pension system, which is expected to be operational in Romania by early 2008. In addition, Aegon will establish a life insurance company in Romania that will enter into a distribution agreement with Banca Transilvania to sell co-branded products through the bank's extensive network of 340 branches. The pension company will be based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Donald J. Shepard, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board of Aegon N.V. stated, "We are delighted to fulfill our intention to enter Romania with such a strong and respected partner as Banca Transilvania. This new partnership continues our focus on developing Aegon's presence throughout the Central and Eastern European region where we believe we can achieve above average growth over the next several years. With the introduction of a mandatory pension system in the coming year, Aegon looks forward to providing customers in the region with life insurance and pension solutions that will meet their developing needs."
Robert C. Rekkers, Chief Executive Officer of Banca Transilvania stated: "Banca Transilvania, as a bank and flagship of BT Financial Group, is an active player on the Romanian financial market, offering a complete range of banking and financial services. Now, through the pension joint venture with Aegon we continue to be first movers in Romania, adding value to our customers and shareholders."
"The proposed partnership with Banca Transilvania and our recent acquisition of a pension management company in Poland will further strengthen our presence in the Central and Eastern European pension markets", said Gábor Kepecs, Chief Executive Officer of Aegon Central and Eastern Europe, who will lead Aegon's implementation of the new joint venture company. "We look forward to combining Aegon's expertise in providing innovative life insurance and pension solutions with the solid reputation and strong distribution capabilities of Banca Transilvania to maximize the opportunities in the Romanian market."
Aegon and Banca Transilvania expect to enter into definitive agreements regarding this partnership later this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
About Banca Transilvana
With a market share of 4.5%, Banca Transilvania is the fifth largest commercial bank in Romania. The bank's headquarters are located in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania's most important city, and during its thirteen years of activity the bank has become a national player, with more than 4,500 employees and 340 branches. Since 1997, Banca Transilvania is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The bank is the core and synergy driver of BT Financial Group offering integrated financial services like: banking, general insurance (BT Asigurari being among the top 10 non-life insurance companies in Romania), leasing, brokerage, factoring and asset management. Due to its outstanding results, Banca Transilvania has received several awards from reputable financial publications: "Best Bank for SMEs", awarded by Bucharest Business Week, and "Bank of the Year 2006", awarded by Oskar Capital. Starting in 2002, under the management of Dutchman Robert C. Rekkers, Banca Transilvana embarked on an ambitious expansion in Retail, SMEs and Corporate Banking. Innovation, flexibility, dynamism are key words to describe Banca Transilvania, a modern financial institution focused on clients.
