BT Aegon set to enter private pension market

BT Aegon pension company, a joint venture between Banca Transilvania and the Dutch at Aegon, will start operating in the summer of 2007, when the private pension reform is launched. The company intends to enter pillar II, meaning that it will invest at least 4m euros, the necessary capital to handle such a business.
“Aegon and Banca Transilvania signed the joint-venture agreement in April 2007 to mutually develop and operate a compulsory private pension company in Romania. The pension company is under development, we’ve registered it and are waiting to be licensed by the Romanian private pension system supervision commission,” stated Gabor Kepecs, CEO with Aegon, in charge with Central and Eastern European operations. Banca Transilvania and Aegon will have equal shares in the new pension company, with both institutions to contribute equally to its capital.
As part of this partnership, Banca Transilvania will provide the distribution of pension products both through its banking network and through the insurance agents of BT Asigurari, while Aegon will bring the international expertise it has accumulated on the private pension market.
“BT Aegon pension management company plans to gain a position among the top five players on the Romanian market. We want a significant market share,” says Kepecs. He believes the partnership with BT will offer BT Aegon the opportunity to gain significant positions both in the pension sector, and on the life insurance market.
“We are ready to invest the necessary sum to have an important presence in Romania,” added Kepecs.
BT officials early this year estimated BT Aegon would have around 300,000 customers by 2008.
“For now, we are focusing on the pension company, but we are also working to establish life insurance operations. Aegon plans to set up a life insurance company in Romania in 2007/2008 and wants to offer a wide range of life insurance products,” explained Kepecs.
Aegon will use several distribution channels to sell its products including the 340-branch network of Banca Transilvania.
“We plan to enter the Romanian insurance market through a greenfield operation, but we’ll study all the opportunities matching our long-term strategy,” stated Kepecs.