AEGON N.V.

Dutch insurer Aegon <AEGN.AS> has put its Eastern European business up for sale as it seeks to raise cash to better cope with the fallout of the coronavirus crisis and revamp earnings in its core markets, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Corona Capital is a daily column updated throughout the day by Breakingviews columnists around the world with short, sharp pandemic-related insights.

Dutch insurer Aegon <AEGN.AS> reported lower than expected first-half earnings on Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic led to higher mortality and lower interest rates in the United States, where it does two-thirds of its business.

Dutch insurer Aegon reported lower than expected first half earnings as the coronavirus led to higher mortality and lower interest rates at its operations in the United States, where it does two-thirds of its business under the Transamerica brand.

U.S.-Dutch insurer Aegon NV <AEGN.AS> on Tuesday reported worse than expected first-quarter underlying income due to the impact of coronavirus and falling interest rates in the United States, where it does the bulk of its business under the Transamerica brand.

* RETURN ON EQUITY OF 7.0% IN Q1 OF 2020; VERY UNLIKELY TO REACH ANNUAL 10% RETURN ON EQUITY TARGET, GIVEN EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Dutch-based insurer Aegon on Tuesday reported worse than expected underlying income due to the impact of coronavirus and falling interest rates in the United States, where it does the bulk of its business.

Dutch insurer Aegon on Friday said it would suspend its dividend in light of the global coronavirus outbreak, following a strong call by the European watchdog to insurers to scrap all payments to shareholders.

* WE HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE IN AEGON'S FINANCIAL STRENGTH - CEO

* Departing CEO says low rate environment challenging (Updates after shares fall. Adds quote, details.)

Aegon, the Dutch-based insurer that does two thirds of its business in the United States under the Transamerica brand, reported on Thursday a bigger than expected fall in underlying pretax profit for the second half of 2019.

Dutch insurer Aegon on Monday said it will gradually reduce holdings in companies generating revenue from coal-fired power plants, or coal mining, to support the transition toward a low-carbon economy.

Dutch insurer Aegon NV <AEGN.AS> on Thursday showed how low interest rates and turbulent markets hit its capital position in the first half of the year, sending the group's shares down as much as 8%.

Dutch insurer Aegon's <AEGN.AS> capital position weakened in the first half of the year because of low interest rates and other unfavourable market developments, it said on Thursday.

NN Group NV, the biggest Dutch insurer, on Thursday reported a 12.3% drop in second-quarter operating profit, days after Chief Executive Officer Lard Friese said he was stepping down to join U.S.-focused rival Aegon NV next year.

Dutch insurer Aegon said on Thursday the company beat analysts' estimates for the first-half, despite a 5% drop in underlying pretax profit to 1.01 billion euros ($1.13 billion).

NN Group <NN.AS> Chief Executive Lard Friese will move to rival Dutch insurer Aegon <AEGN.AS> next year to succeed Alex Wynaendts as CEO, both companies said on Monday.

NN Group Chief Executive Lard Friese will move to rival Dutch insurer Aegon next year to succeed Alex Wynaendts as CEO, both companies said on Monday.

The Indian arm of Dutch-based insurer Aegon NV said it was investigating an incident in which some customer information was leaked on its website, but added the episode was not related to any hack.