The site also will feature timely commentary and state-of-the-art tools from MoneyShow.com partners such as SmartMoney, InvestorPlace Media, and Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “We’re very excited about our new features, tools and design which will help us deliver a unique multimedia experience for investors and traders,” said Howard Gold, executive editor of MoneyShow.com.

New content available for investors on MoneyShow.com includes:

• SavageMoney Blog: Award-winning personal finance columnist Terry Savage will write an exclusive blog on investing and personal finance that will encourage user participation as part of an effort to build investing communities on MoneyShow.com.

• Global Investing: This brand-new section will offer Q&As, perspectives and investment recommendations from leading advisers based in major markets around the globe.

• Daily Market Commentary: Features insights from InvestorPlace Media’s top experts on the markets, including Louis Navellier, John Dessauer, and Richard Band.

• The Markets Today: Provides data for major market indices and commodities including the DJIA, NASDAQ, S&P 500, and others.

• Options Corner: Options experts Schaeffer’s Investment Research will provide daily options-centric commentary, as well as charts, discussions of trading opportunities, and more.

• Tools: In conjunction with MoneyShow.com partners, visitors can utilize a robust set of investing tools to help them research ideas, refine their strategy, and make informed investment decisions. Tools include Portfolio Grader, Market Analysis, investing glossary, and many more.

MoneyShow.com also has expanded its tools and features aimed at a growing audience of active traders, such as:

• Trading Idea of the Day: MoneyShow.com contributors will discuss what they believe is a good trading opportunity that day.

• Technical View: MoneyShow.com’s video content editor Tom Aspray offers his insights into aspects of each day’s most interesting charts.

• Bar-by-bar Trade Review: Experts break down trades step-by-step to help traders review why they made a trade, how they managed it, and why they closed out their position.

• Currency Corner: This features daily news and information about foreign currency trading, so traders can make intelligent decisions about the short-term direction of major currencies.

The new website also offers a brand-new design that makes accessing all features much easier. Dedicated pages for various offerings and a new topic-driven organization will allow users to experience in a new way the rich content available on the site. These features include:

• Virtual Events - live and on-demand Webcasts: Leading investment experts discuss the state of the markets and recommend which stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs to buy and sell.

• Video Network: MoneyShow.com offers nearly 1,000 exclusive interviews and monologues, posted daily, featuring the world’s best-known investment advisers who provide market strategies and investment ideas.

• Search: A revamped search function allows users to quickly find what they’re looking for on MoneyShow.com by expert, company, ticker symbol, or other criteria.

• MoneyShow University: This section hosts in-depth courses and how-to-sessions at all levels of sophistication, from beginner to advanced.

To view all the new daily content, tools, and interactive education available to investors and traders, visit www.moneyshow.com.

Source: MoneyShow.com

Reflecting a stronger yen to the dollar, total revenues increased 15.2% to $4.3 billion during the second quarter of 2008, compared with $3.8 billion a year ago. Net earnings were $483 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, compared with $415 million, or $.84 per share, a year ago. Realized investment losses were $1 million, or nil per diluted share in the second quarter of 2008, compared with realized investment gains of $9 million, or $.02 per share a year ago. Net earnings in the second quarter of 2008 included a loss of $3 million, or $.01 per diluted share, from the change in fair value of the interest rate component of the cross-currency swaps related to the company’s senior notes, as required by SFAS 133. In the second quarter of 2007, the impact of SFAS 133 decreased net earnings by $1 million, or nil per diluted share.

We believe that an analysis of operating earnings, a non-GAAP financial measure, is vitally important to an understanding of Aflac’s underlying profitability drivers. We define operating earnings as the profits we derive from our operations before realized investment gains and losses, the impact from SFAS 133, and nonrecurring items. Management uses operating earnings to evaluate the financial performance of Aflac’s insurance operations because realized gains and losses, the impact from SFAS 133, and nonrecurring items tend to be driven by general economic conditions and events, and therefore may obscure the underlying fundamentals and trends in Aflac’s insurance operations.

Furthermore, because a significant portion of our business is in Japan, where our functional currency is the Japanese yen, we believe it is equally important to understand the impact on operating earnings from translating yen into dollars. We translate Aflac Japan’s yen-denominated income statement from yen into dollars using an average exchange rate for the reporting period, and we translate the balance sheet using the exchange rate at the end of the period. However, except for a limited number of transactions, we do not actually convert yen into dollars. As a result, we view foreign currency as a financial reporting issue for Aflac and not as an economic event to our company or shareholders. Because changes in exchange rates distort the growth rates of our operations, we also encourage readers of our financial statements to evaluate our financial performance excluding the impact of foreign currency. The chart toward the end of this release presents a comparison of selected income statement items with and without foreign currency changes to illustrate the effect of currency.

Operating earnings in the second quarter were $487 million, compared with $407 million in the second quarter of 2007. Operating earnings per diluted share rose 23.2% to $1.01, compared with $.82 a year ago. The stronger yen/dollar exchange rate increased operating earnings per diluted share by $.08 during the quarter. Excluding the impact from the stronger yen, operating earnings per share increased 13.4%.

Results for the first six months of 2008 also benefited from a stronger yen. Total revenues rose 14.5% to $8.6 billion, compared with $7.5 billion in the first half of 2007. Net earnings were $957 million, or $1.98 per diluted share, compared with $831 million, or $1.68 per share, for the first six months of 2007. Operating earnings for the first six months of 2008 were $962 million, or $1.99 per diluted share, compared with $814 million, or $1.64 per share, in 2007. Excluding the benefit of $.13 per share from the stronger yen, operating earnings per diluted share rose 13.4% for the first six months of the year.

AFLAC JAPAN

Aflac Japan’s total revenues in yen were up 2.9%. Premium income in yen rose 3.6%, and net investment income declined .7% in the second quarter. Investment income growth in yen terms was suppressed by the stronger yen/dollar exchange rate because approximately 37% of Aflac Japan’s second quarter investment income was dollar-denominated. Excluding the impact of the stronger yen, net investment income was up 5.0% in the quarter. Due to continued improvement in the benefit ratio, the pretax operating profit margin expanded from 17.4% to 18.2%. As a result, pretax operating earnings in yen increased 7.5%. For the first six months, premium income in yen increased 3.6%, and net investment income was down .3%. Total revenues were up 2.8%, and pretax operating earnings grew 6.1%.

The average yen/dollar exchange rate in the second quarter of 2008 was 104.50, or 15.6% stronger than the average rate of 120.78 in the second quarter of 2007. For the first six months, the average exchange rate was 104.77, or 14.7% stronger than the rate of 120.13 a year ago. Aflac Japan’s growth rates in dollar terms for both the second quarter and first six months were magnified as a result of the stronger average yen/dollar exchange rates.

Reflecting the stronger yen, premium income in dollars rose 19.7% to $2.6 billion in the second quarter. Net investment income was up 14.8% to $508 million. Total revenues increased 18.9% to $3.1 billion. Pretax operating earnings advanced 24.3% to $573 million. For the first six months, premium income was $5.2 billion, or 18.7% higher than a year ago. Net investment income rose 14.3% to $1.0 billion. Total revenues were up 17.8% to $6.2 billion. Pretax operating earnings were $1.1 billion, or 21.7% higher than a year ago.

Aflac Japan’s total new annualized premium sales declined 4.9% to 28.7 billion yen, or $274 million in the second quarter. For the first six months, total new premium sales were down .3% to 56.3 billion yen, or $537 million. Second quarter sales results reflected an 11.1% decline in cancer product sales, compared with a year ago. The decline in cancer insurance sales reflected challenging comparisons to 2007 when cancer insurance sales benefited from advanced purchases of our product prior to a pending premium rate increase. In addition, our sales associates focused on selling a lower premium cancer insurance product in the second quarter that upgrades the coverage for existing policyholders. Medical insurance sales rose 8.7% in the quarter, benefiting from the sale of our nonstandard medical product, Gentle EVER. Bank channel sales increased 146.4% in the second quarter, compared with the first quarter. While that is a significant improvement, we had expected the bank channel to do even better.

AFLAC U.S.

Aflac U.S. total revenues rose 8.4% to $1.2 billion in the second quarter. Premium income increased 9.5% to $1.1 billion and net investment income was up .1% to $125 million. Pretax operating earnings were $190 million, an increase of 11.1%. For the first six months, total revenues were up 8.4% to $2.4 billion. Premium income rose 9.4% to $2.1 billion. Net investment income increased .7% to $248 million. Pretax operating earnings rose 11.8% to $380 million.

Total new annualized premium sales rose 4.9% to $383 million in the second quarter of 2008. Although second quarter sales growth was below our annual target of an 8% to 12% increase, the rate of growth improved significantly over the first quarter of 2008. For the six months, total new annualized premium sales increased 2.7% to $736 million.

New agent recruitment continued to be solid this year. The number of newly recruited agents rose 4.2% in the second quarter to more than 6,700. Additionally, the average number of weekly producing sales associates increased, rising 6.3% in the second quarter. We continue to believe that the ongoing expansion of a productive sales force is an important driver of future sales growth. We also believe our success at increasing the number of producing sales associates has resulted from the enhanced training programs we have been implementing over the last few years.

DIVIDEND

The board of directors declared the third quarter cash dividend. The third quarter dividend of $.24 per share is payable on September 2, 2008, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 20, 2008.

OUTLOOK

Commenting on the company’s second quarter results, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel P. Amos stated: “I am pleased with Aflac’s financial performance for the first half of 2008. In both the United States and Japan, our financial results have met or exceeded our expectations so far this year.

“I am encouraged by the improvement of our U.S. sales growth in the second quarter following a very slow start in the first quarter of this year. Knowing that we need a 12.5% increase in the second half of the year to meet the low end of our sales target, it will clearly be difficult to achieve the minimum of an 8% increase for 2008. As I have mentioned previously, we can’t rule out that the U.S. economy is a contributing factor to slower sales growth. However, we still believe our products remain affordable to the average American consumer. And we are convinced that the protection our products provide is even more valuable when a significant health event occurs at a time of rising food and gas prices, and we’re working to convey that message to consumers through our commercials and sales force.

“For Aflac Japan, we were not surprised to see weak second quarter sales. Yet, we did expect a sales increase in the quarter. With sales being flat for the first six months of the year, it will be more challenging to achieve our objective of a 3% to 7% sales increase for the year than anticipated. However, we expect to see improved sales growth in the second half of 2008, and I still believe our sales objective is achievable. My optimism for meeting our target is based on the strength of our product line and the new distribution opportunities through the bank channel and Japan Post.

“One of the very favorable attributes of Aflac’s business model is our predictable earnings growth even in periods when sales are not as predictable. It appears that we are in one of those periods. However, even though our sales growth has been slower than we expected so far this year, our outlook for earnings has not changed. Our earnings growth primarily reflects our large and profitable block of in-force business. Importantly, the claims, expense and margin trends of our business in force remain predictable and very favorable. As a result, I believe we are well-positioned to achieve our earnings targets for 2008 and 2009.

“Our objective for 2008 remains an increase of 14% to 15% in operating earnings per diluted share, excluding the impact of foreign currency. Achieving that target would result in operating earnings of $3.73 to $3.76 per diluted share this year, assuming the same average exchange rate we experienced in 2007. However, through the first half of 2008, the yen has been significantly stronger to the dollar, compared with a year ago. If the stronger yen persists throughout the year, it will continue to benefit our reported results in dollar terms. Assuming the yen averages 105 to 110 for the full year, we would expect to report operating earnings per diluted share of $3.86 to $3.98 in 2008. Using that same exchange rate assumption, we would expect third quarter operating earnings to be $.98 to $1.01 per diluted share. For 2009, our objective remains a 13% to 15% increase in operating earnings per diluted share before the impact of the yen/dollar exchange rate.”

For more than 50 years, Aflac products have given policyholders the opportunity to direct cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and the number one insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in force in Japan. Our insurance products provide protection to more than 40 million people worldwide. Aflac has been included in Fortune magazine’s list of America’s Most Admired Companies for seven years and in Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for ten consecutive years. Aflac has been recognized three times by both Fortune magazine’s list of the Top 50 Employers for Minorities and Working Mother magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers and has also been included in Ethisphere magazine’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for two consecutive years. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com.

A copy of Aflac’s Financial Analyst Briefing (FAB) supplement for the second quarter of 2008 can be found on the “Investors” page at aflac.com.

Source: Aflac Incorporated

United Financial Bancorp, Inc. is a publicly owned corporation and the holding company for United Bank, a federally chartered savings bank headquartered at 95 Elm Street, West Springfield, MA 01090. The Company’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol UBNK. United Bank provides an array of financial products and services through its 15 branch offices located throughout Western Massachusetts. Through its Wealth Management Group and its partnership with NFP Securities, Inc., the Bank is able to offer access to a wide range of investment and insurance products and services, as well as financial, estate and retirement strategies and products. For more information regarding the Bank’s products and services and for United Financial Bancorp, Inc. investor relations information, please visit http://www.bankatunited.com/.

Except for the historical information contained in this press release, the matters discussed may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks and uncertainties, including changes in economic conditions in the Company’s market area, changes in policies by regulatory agencies, fluctuations in interest rates, demand for loans in the Company’s market area, competition, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports. Actual strategies and results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected. These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Source: United Financial Bancorp, Inc.

Early bird registration ends this week, so sign up today at http://www3.best-in-class.com/gr168.htm. Leading companies have already joined the speaker and attendee roster, including:

— Hewlett-Packard
— Boeing
— Johnson & Johnson
— Motorola
— FedEx
— Nortel
— DuPont
— BP

Download the complimentary research excerpt “Integrating Quality into Business Systems for High Performance” at http://www3.best-in-class.com/gr172.htm to see what’s top-of-mind for conference attendees.

Don’t allow your company to miss this networking opportunity with
members, guests and representatives from Fortune 500 companies to
exchange best practices and lessons learned through dynamic case study
presentations, themed networking breaks and events, facilitated
interactive discussions on:

— Reducing Expenses while Improving Quality
— Improving Internal Processes with the Customer in Mind
— Identifying Root Causes and Elimination Strategies of Chronic Quality
Problems
— Implementing Diverse Process Improvement Tools
— And More

For more information on this year’s working conference, contact Shelley Alfred-Watkins at 919.767.9254 or salfred-watkins@best-in-class.com.

Source: Best Practices, LLC

Diebold, Incorporated, the global leader in integrated self-service delivery, recently partnered with OnPoint(R) Community Credit Union to provide a comprehensive outsourcing solution. OnPoint Community Credit Union, the largest credit union in Oregon serving approximately 186,000 members, currently has 45 automated teller machines (ATMs) and plans to add up to an additional 30 by 2011.

Like most financial institutions, OnPoint must compete for customers in a highly competitive marketplace that includes local, regional and national financial institutions. To successfully achieve that high level of competitiveness, OnPoint has forged a unique, long-term outsourcing partnership with Diebold - recognized for the past two years as one of the world’s top outsourcing companies by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals. Through the partnership, Diebold gives OnPoint access to the best available technology in the financial services industry by offering products and services that are both innovative and convenient.

As part of the outsourcing partnership, Diebold Integrated Services(R) will provide OnPoint with a myriad of products and services, including new Opteva(R) ATMs, first -and second-line maintenance, armored carrier, network monitoring, ATM and debit card processing, Diebold RemoteLink and OpteView(R) services, currency management, client services and help desk support.

Diebold outsources products and services beyond the self-service channel including teller automation, automated deposit technology and data, software, and on-premises security management. For example, as part of Diebold’s outsourcing relationship with OnPoint, the credit union is planning to add Intelligent Depository Module and Bulk Note Acceptance (BNA) technology within the year. As one of the newest advances in deposit automation, BNA allows for envelope-free deposits, enabling check depositing in any orientation - backwards or upside down in any direction - in stacks of up to 30 for the ultimate deposit convenience.

“We were looking for more than superior hardware and technology. We wanted a business partner that would take a comprehensive approach to developing our solution; evaluating the challenges we knew of as well as those we didn’t,” said Kelly Schrader, senior vice president of members services for OnPoint Community Credit Union. “By outsourcing with Diebold, we found a partner that provided a customized solution that impacts our bottom line, efficiencies and member satisfaction in a way that exceeded our expectations.”

Most importantly, as with all Diebold outsourcing partnerships - the entire program, from managing ATM uptime and remote monitoring to currency management, networking and security - is managed through a single point of contact. This enables OnPoint to concentrate on its core area of expertise - building member relationships - while outsourcing the management of its self-service channel to Diebold.

The ability to provide outsourcing solutions that take into consideration regional influences to financial institutions such as OnPoint is a key component of Diebold’s outsourcing strategy.

“OnPoint has established a very aggressive self-service strategy for its members and needed a partner that would help accelerate growth in this area,” said Charles E. Ducey, Jr., senior vice president of global development and services, Diebold. “With Diebold Integrated Services, we can provide OnPoint with the ‘nuts and bolts’ of day-to-day operations, freeing them to focus internal resources on self-service strategy and outpacing the competition in this area.”

According to OnPoint’s Schrader, not only is the financial institution excited about new solutions gained, the company is also excited about what outsourcing with Diebold will enable it to do in the future as new technologies become available. “Now we spend more time on growth strategies and less time managing multiple partnerships. We’re aggressively pursuing our plan to include advanced functionalities at our points-of-service,” Schrader said.

To learn more about Diebold Integrated Services, financial institutions can visit Diebold’s Outsourcing Assessment Center at www.dieboldassessmentcenter.com . This interactive area allows financial institutions to evaluate their current ATM channel against industry standards to learn how outsourcing can positively impact their bottom lines.

Source: Diebold, Incorporated

As the FTSE fluctuated dramatically punters were betting furiously on further market falls, some winning bets with odds of as much as 19-1, and so earning a return of 2000% in just a week.

Ryan Kneale, market analyst at http://www.BetsForTraders.com, comments:

“Within the current climate of economic instability, buying shares has not been the best way to make money on the markets. This is why more people are turning to fixed-odds financial betting, where they can make significant financial gains whether the markets rise or fall. To illustrate, if you had invested in a FTSE tracker fund at the beginning of the year, you would now be down 16.2%. But by betting on the falls you could have grown your money by many times, with limited risk on every trade.”

One client won six bets in a row at odds of 19-1 and another savvy punter has made 30 times his money in the last month.

Ryan Kneale continues:

“This is good news for our clients, many of whom are completely new to the markets, but of course when they win, we lose. And with all the predictions that the market instability will continue for a while yet, there are going to be interesting times ahead.”

Source: BetsForTraders.com

Members of SSP’s management team that own approximately 27% of the Company support the transaction and will rollover a significant portion of their current equity holdings in SSP.

SSP is a leading provider of IT systems and services to the general insurance sector in the UK and selected international markets. With over two decades’ experience, SSP has a reputation for delivering innovative solutions from “carrier to consumer”, facilitating communication and interaction between all participants in the insurance chain, from insurance underwriters through to consumers. This unique proposition improves business control, productivity and efficiency. More than 41,000 users in over 50 countries make SSP a partner of choice for insurance businesses worldwide.

H&F is a leading global private equity group specializing in a variety of sectors, including software and information services, financial services, and media.

David Rasche, Executive Chairman of SSP said, “I am pleased to announce this transaction which recognises the significant value that has been created for SSP shareholders since we floated the Company in October 2006. Many of our shareholders invested in the IPO at 98 pence per share and will now realise a premium of approximately 94 per cent in cash over some two years. This will be good news for our customers and staff as it will allow us to retain talent in the business as we continue to expand over the coming years.”

Stephen Duckett, Managing Director of H&F, said “H&F is delighted to have the opportunity to invest in SSP. We are excited about supporting SSP’s management team as they continue to successfully grow the business and we look forward to helping them build on a well established market position and strong customer relationships.”

Source: Hellman & Friedman LLC and SSP Holdings plc

Database and Application Technology to be Migrated Include ADABAS/Natural, VSAM/COBOL, JCL, Assembler, CLIST, SuperWylbur, PL/I, CA Easytrieve and SAS to a Java/Oracle Environment

Project Estimated at $1.1 Million and Expected to Take 15 Months to Implement

BluePhoenix Solutions (NASDAQ: BPHX), the leader in value-driven legacy modernization, today announced that following a successful global assessment of the systems at the U.S. Department of Energy, it has won a major project estimated at $1.1 million to migrate and modernize several key applications and databases to the Java/Oracle environment. The legacy technology includes ADABAS/Natural, VSAM/COBOL, JCL, Assembler, CLIST, SuperWylbur, PL/I, CA Easytrieve and SAS. This project will be executed in conjunction with BluePhoenix partner EES (Energy Enterprise Solutions), to whom BluePhoenix is serving as subcontractor.

The Department of Energy’s overarching mission is to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States; to promote scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; and to ensure the environmental cleanup of the national nuclear weapons complex.

Working in conjunction with EES (Energy Enterprise Solutions), a leading provider of solutions to the Department of Energy, BluePhoenix’s automated migration tools and services will be used to perform the migration, transformation, testing and enhancement to the modernized databases and applications.

“We are very comfortable with our initial experience of working with BluePhoenix through the global assessment and into the initial stages of the migration effort,” said Bill Underwood, CIO and Director of Office of Information Technology, Department of Energy / Energy Information Administration. “We look forward to leveraging the benefits of modern technology with the reduced risk and timeframes that BluePhoenix can provide.”

According to a recent study entitled “Government and IT Modernization” from Gartner, Inc., factors such as skill gaps, budget cuts, complexity and age of IT systems have a direct impact on government IT departments’ assets, services and management practices. Gartner notes that “During the next 5 to 10 years, the retirement of baby boomers will create gaps in skills required to upgrade and maintain legacy mainframe-based systems that are poorly documented and dependent on vanishing programmers.”

“This project represents our continued support and commitment to the federal government in their quest to secure a safe, rapid, economic migration path for their legacy databases and applications,” said Arik Kilman, CEO of BluePhoenix. “Given the amount of legacy systems that can be found in all areas of government, we see this as an excellent market for growth in the coming years.”

Source: BluePhoenix Solutions Ltd

In 2007, the Court had entered a judgment against the Company and its Illinois subsidiary of approximately $334 million, plus the fees of the Relator’s counsel. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the Company will pay $225 million to the United States and the State of Illinois, plus approximately $9 million in legal fees, and will not admit any wrongdoing. Additionally, in connection with the settlement, the Company will enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“We are concluding this litigation now to remove a source of significant legal and financial uncertainty for our organization. With this matter resolved, we can concentrate fully on the business at hand — meeting the healthcare needs of our members and continuing to serve our government partners,” said James G. Carlson, AMERIGROUP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our responsibility to our shareholders, associates, members, providers and government partners is to close this chapter now and move toward the future.”

The Company will report a one-time charge for the settlement of approximately $199 million net of the estimated tax benefit, in the second quarter ended June 30, 2008. The Company will pay the settlement from restricted funds previously established to cover costs related to the judgment. Following the payment, which is expected to occur during the third quarter of 2008, the Company’s unrestricted cash balance will increase by approximately $117 million due to the release of excess restricted funds. These funds will be available for general corporate purposes. The Company will also be favorably impacted by estimated tax benefits of approximately $35 million.

The Company will provide full-year 2008 earnings guidance in its previously scheduled second quarter earnings release on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.

Unrelated to this case, AMERIGROUP Illinois voluntarily ended its contract with Illinois in 2006 and no longer operates in that State. The Company also has expanded its corporate compliance program significantly to fully ensure compliance with state and federal regulations in its health plans.

Source: AMERIGROUP Corporation

In June 2008, AEGON announced three strategic priorities to support its growth ambitions: to reallocate capital toward businesses with higher growth and return prospects, to improve growth and returns from existing businesses, and to manage AEGON as an international Group. This transaction supports each of these priorities.

AEGON’s CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board, Alexander Wynaendts says: “Innovative transactions such as this enable us to manage capital more effectively across the AEGON Group, representing one of our key strategic objectives. The fact that we’ve completed this transaction in the current financial environment reflects confidence in AEGON’s continued financial strength.”

The private transaction, structured by Barclays Capital and rated by Fitch as single A , is a value in-force (VIF) securitization which enables AEGON to monetize the value of a portion of future profits from a book of unit-linked business within its UK operations. In addition, each year for the first three years, AEGON has the option to contribute new business to maintain the level of financing outstanding.

In January 2007, AEGON completed a securitization, which enabled the company to release capital of GBP 90 million from its UK business, which won acclaim for its innovative approach and won the award for “Deal of the Year” from the magazine Life & Pensions.

AEGON will continue to explore further opportunities, such as securitizations, to improve its capital efficiency, optimize its capital allocation and improve returns.

Source: AEGON N.V.