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    Farquhar Murray • Autonomous

    Farquhar Murray's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership

    Farquhar Murray's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    Farquhar Murray from Autonomous Research inquired about the expected project costs for the U.S. GAAP implementation and the re-domiciliation. He also asked how the increased focus on the U.S. would affect Aegon's strategic approach to its other global businesses.

    Answer

    CEO Lard Friese responded that the costs associated with the potential move will be part of the ongoing review, with an update to be provided at the Capital Markets Day. Regarding the global footprint, he stated that the strategy defined in 2020 for the company's perimeter, which includes creating advantaged businesses in its chosen markets, remains unchanged.

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    Farquhar Murray's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Farquhar Murray from Autonomous Research asked for an explanation for the decline in the proportion of multi-ticket agents at World Financial Group (WFG) and inquired about the nature of the new agent activation program. He also sought clarity on the framing of the €150 million buyback, noting it seems insufficient to reach the 2026 cash target.

    Answer

    CEO Lars Fraser explained that the growth in new WFG agents (up 19% YoY) means more agents are still ramping up, impacting the multi-ticket ratio. He described a granular activation program providing training and support to accelerate their productivity. CFO Duncan Russell clarified the €150M buyback is not part of a regular, predictable program but an action to manage the cash position, confirming it alone won't reach the 2026 target, which will be achieved via investments or further returns.

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    Farquhar Murray's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership • H1 2024

    Question

    Farquhar Murray of Autonomous requested a breakdown of the new operating result guidance of €800-900 million per half, asking how much is from business growth versus assumption changes. He also asked for the split of the assumption update charge between term and universal life policies and if it targeted a specific cohort.

    Answer

    CFO Matt Rider confirmed the guidance uplift is driven by both the assumption reset (€50 million) and underlying business growth in strategic assets. He stated the new range is the expected run-rate for the next half-year, not a gradual target. He added that the assumption update charge was split roughly 50/50 between term and traditional life blocks, with a primary focus on older-age mortality.

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    Farquhar Murray's questions to ING Groep NV (ING) leadership

    Farquhar Murray's questions to ING Groep NV (ING) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Farquhar Murray of Autonomous Research asked for the drivers behind the increased confidence in the full-year fee income guidance. He sought proof points that the growth is 'alpha driven' rather than market-related beta and asked for the current revenue from insurance products.

    Answer

    CEO Steven van Rijswijk attributed the confidence to strong growth in mobile primary customers, an increasing number of investment accounts, and growing lending deals in Wholesale Banking. He emphasized that broadening the customer base and service offerings is driving structural growth. He specified that insurance income was €69 million for the quarter, a figure now being disclosed.

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    Farquhar Murray's questions to ING Groep NV (ING) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Farquhar Murray of Autonomous asked why NII guidance wasn't being raised given strong deposit growth and whether the 130 bps lending margin target was now a stretch. He also questioned if the CET1 target would revert to 12.5% this year if geopolitical tensions ease.

    Answer

    CEO Steven van Rijswijk stated that ING will stick to the 12.8%-13% CET1 target for 2025 to maintain consistency amid uncertainty. CFO Tanate Phutrakul noted that while Q1 volume performance was strong, it is too early in the year to adjust full-year NII guidance.

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    Farquhar Murray's questions to ING Groep NV (ING) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Farquhar Murray asked for details on the €6.5 billion RWA increase from model updates, including which lending books were affected and if there were costs associated with mitigating actions. He also inquired about ING's deposit pricing philosophy heading into an interest rate cutting cycle.

    Answer

    CRO Ljiljana Cortan stated the RWA update primarily came from the low default portfolio in wholesale banking. CFO Tanate Phutrakul added that the revenue impact from mitigating actions is expected to be minor. Regarding deposit pricing, Executive Steven van Rijswijk explained that the bank will remain 'nimble,' continuously calibrating its strategy based on an economic trade-off between customer growth and profitability, without committing to a specific approach.

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    Farquhar Murray's questions to ING Groep NV (ING) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Farquhar Murray requested more detail on the EUR 6.5 billion RWA model updates, asking which lending books were affected and if there were costs to the mitigating actions. He also asked about ING's philosophy on deposit pricing as the ECB enters a rate-cutting cycle.

    Answer

    CEO Steven van Rijswijk stated that the deposit pricing strategy will be nimble and calibrated based on an economic equation balancing customer growth and profitability. CRO Ljiljana Cortan specified that the RWA model update primarily came from the low default portfolio in wholesale banking. CFO Tanate Phutrakul added that the revenue impact from the RWA mitigating actions is expected to be minor as the bank optimizes for revenue, RWA, and return on equity.

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