S&P puts Aegon on watch

Standard & Poor's said it placed the A+ long-term counterparty credit rating on Aegon NV on CreditWatch with negative implications.

"This action follows the announcement by Aegon that it expects to report a net loss of €1.2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008," S&P analyst Mark Button said in a statement. "The loss reported by Aegon was higher than our expectations owing to material losses on fair-value items and elevated credit impairments."

The watch considers higher-than-expected losses for 2008 and a weaker economic and credit outlook for 2009 that will pressure earnings, the agency said. Continued weakness in equity markets has also increased the level of equity sensitivity in Aegon's earnings profile.

The €3 billion capital injection from the Dutch state in the fourth quarter of 2008 has supported the company's very strong capital adequacy, S&P noted.

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