NN Group reports strong OCG and solid business performance in first half of 2023

Strong operating capital generation and resilient balance sheet, driving continued strong capital returns for shareholders

• Operating capital generation (OCG) showed a year-on-year increase of 14.8% to EUR 997 million in the first half of 2023 on a like-for-like basis, reflecting higher contributions from Netherlands Non-life, Insurance Europe and Banking; underscoring the strength of our diversified portfolio of businesses
• NN Group Solvency II ratio increased to 201% from 197% at 31 December 2022, mainly driven by strong OCG, partly offset by capital flows to shareholders
• Committed to capital return policy of a progressive dividend per share and annual share buyback of at least EUR 250 million; 2023 interim dividend of EUR 1.12 per ordinary share
• Updated combined ratio guidance to 91-93% from 93-95% at Netherlands Non-life in 2025 to reflect the discounting effects arising from the move to IFRS 17 accounting standards as well as continued strong business performance
• Operating result increased by 24.5% to EUR 1.40 billion from EUR 1.12 billion in the first half of 2022, reflecting improved results across most segments. The net result in the first half of 2023 was EUR 0.6 billion. As of this reporting period results are based on IFRS 9 and IFRS 17; all comparative results have been restated

Solid business performance despite volatile macroeconomic environment

• Strong net inflows of EUR 1.3 billion at our Defined Contribution pension business in the Netherlands; up from EUR 0.9 billion in the first half of 2023
• Commercial momentum at Insurance Europe continued, driven by higher sales and benefitting from the acquired MetLife businesses
• Strong combined ratio of 90.1% at Netherlands Non-life; Banking benefited from higher interest result
• Value of new business (VNB) was EUR 195 million, down from EUR 257 million in the first half of 2022, mainly driven by lower sales and negative currency impact at Japan Life

Good progress on execution of strategy focused on customers, people and society

• Customer satisfaction scores in European markets showing upward trend; Dutch and International Insurance businesses on par with market average, supported by digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI)
• Employee engagement remains high at 7.9, reflecting our efforts to further develop an attractive and inclusive workplace in a tight labour market
• Continued progress on our sustainability efforts, with EUR 9 billion total investments in climate solutions; disclosure of first interim net-zero targets for our mortgage and insurance underwriting portfolios

Statement of David Knibbe, CEO

‘Today we are reporting strong results for the first half of 2023 and good progress on our strategic and financial targets, underscoring the strength of our diversified portfolio of businesses in this uncertain macroeconomic environment. Operating capital generation (OCG) rose 14.8% to EUR 997 million compared with the first half of 2022, excluding the impact of the sale of our asset management business in April 2022. This reflects strong business performances from Netherlands Non-life, Insurance Europe and Banking, more than offsetting a decrease in OCG at Netherlands Life mainly due to adverse financial markets. Our capital position remains resilient, and we continue to be comfortable with the high quality of our investment portfolio.

Our commercial performance was solid across our businesses. Netherlands Life realised net inflows of EUR 1.3 billion at its Defined Contribution pension business, a significant increase compared with EUR 0.9 billion in the first half of 2022, reflecting our strong position in the Dutch pension market. Netherlands Non-life reported a strongly improved combined ratio of 90.1%, benefitting from a favourable claims experience supported by benign weather, as well as higher interest rates. Commercial momentum at Insurance Europe continued, as reflected by higher sales across the region despite inflationary pressures in many of our markets.

We continued to make progress on our strategy focused on customers, our talented people and our contribution to society. We became one of the first companies to work with ChatGPT in our own secure environment as part of our focus to enhance our digital capabilities to further improve the customer experience. The technology is currently being used in our call centres and more than 4,000 colleagues have access to the tool, partly to identify further opportunities for application across our business. In the Netherlands, we are intensifying efforts to help our customers navigate the changes in the pension market following the adoption of the pension reform by the Dutch Senate in May. Throughout our European markets, we are stepping up efforts to respond to the rise in mental health problems with additional products and services. From July onwards, we have been supporting customers faced with damages caused by the extreme weather this summer.

We are pleased with the continued high engagement levels of our people, as reflected by an employee engagement score of 7.9, unchanged from the end of 2022. This demonstrates our focus on building an attractive and inclusive workplace in a tight labour market, for example by supporting our colleagues’ well-being and offering opportunities to grow. We continue to make progress on embedding sustainability into everything we do. We launched a EUR 300 million investment fund for infrastructure climate solutions, we further tightened our stance on proprietary investments in the oil and gas sector, and this summer we published our first interim net-zero targets for our residential mortgages and insurance underwriting portfolios.

With these results, we remain well on track to deliver on our ambitious strategic and financial targets for 2025 despite the ongoing macroeconomic challenges. We would like to thank our customers, our people and our shareholders for their continued trust and commitment.’

Delivering on our strategic commitments

At NN, we help people care for what matters most to them. Our purpose reflects the kind of company we aspire to be: a company that delivers long-term value for all stakeholders. Our ambition is to be an industry leader, known for our customer engagement, talented people, and contribution to society. To realise our ambition, we identified five strategic commitments, with all parts of our business contributing.

Customers and distribution – Improving our offering through new initiatives and partnerships

We want our colleagues to focus on helping our customers as much as possible. To this end, in the Netherlands we are deploying generative artificial intelligence (AI) across our call centres. Through automated call logging, agents get an automatic summary of their conversations with customers within seconds after the calls end, saving them time to focus on helping our customers. The tool was first implemented at a call centre at our banking business and will be rolled out to other call centres in the coming months.

As we continue to strengthen our distribution network across our European markets, NN Czech Republic entered into a seven-year exclusive partnership with MONETA Money Bank for the distribution of its life insurance and pension savings products to Moneta’s customers. Through the cooperation, the bank’s customers can purchase NN products both at Moneta’s branches and through the bank’s online portals. Additionally, NN Slovakia started a partnership with Slovenská sporiteľňa, the country’s largest bank, offering its customers NN life insurance and a new risk insurance product.

We have a strong focus on customer engagement. We continue to enhance the customer experience we offer, and continue to improve our position compared to the market. We measure our customer engagement based on Net Promoter Scores (NPS-r), amongst other metrics. Based on the latest scores, our Dutch and International business units score on par with market average NPS-r, with many of our European businesses showing an upward trend.

Products and services – Meeting our customers’ needs with new protection and health products

We continued our efforts to meet customers’ evolving needs for protection. For example, across our markets we have been responding to the rise in mental health problems in Europe. To support the mental well-being of the self-employed, NN Belgium introduced preventive services as an add-on to its disability insurance. The service includes psychological support counselling, life coaching and a mindfulness programme for stress prevention. Our Polish business was amongst the first insurers to include psychological and psychiatric support for mental disorders, as an add-on to its group life insurance. The product can be extended to cover employees’ families. In the Netherlands, we are exploring work absenteeism in relation to mental health. In June, Nationale-Nederlanden published its third trend report showing a 5.6% work absenteeism rate in 2022, which is driven in part by psychological issues. Nationale-Nederlanden is providing solutions to increase the focus on employees’ mental health. For example, in addition to our occupational health and safety services, we offer a prevention package which helps employers and employees prevent absenteeism.

In preparation for the new Dutch pension legislation, which has been in effect since 1 July 2023, Nationale-Nederlanden and BeFrank, our online pension administrator, organised sessions to educate advisors on the legislation changes and their impact on customers. We have developed a digital tool that gives an indication of the financial consequences of the new Dutch pension legislation for employers. Advisors can also use the tool for pension schemes from other providers.

In Greece, following the legal merger of former MetLife and NN Hellas, we launched an investment product which combines the best features of both companies’ products. The product offers a range of investment options, including sustainable options that promote environmental and/or social characteristics and at the same time protection to the customer and their family in case of an accident.

People and organisation – Initiatives supporting a diverse workplace and our people’s well-being

We continued our efforts to become a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Colleagues representing all NN markets visited Rotterdam Pride, of which we are the main partner, combining their attendance with a two-day training session on LGBTI+ topics. We launched an international D&I network, while in Spain, we organised volunteer activities with people with an intellectual disability. NN Turkey is amongst the signatories of the UN Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), committing to support gender equality. NN Life Japan sponsored the launch of the Japanese community of Women In Tech, an international organisation that aims to close the gender gap and help women embrace technology. As part of our focus on hiring and retaining tech talent, NN Life Japan established a Technology Operations Centre in the tech hub of Fukuoka city. The centre will be equipped with personnel to ensure business continuity in the event of a disaster impacting our Tokyo office.

To support our employees’ well-being, we introduced the Personal Health Check in the Netherlands. By completing the Personal Health Check, colleagues gain insights into their lifestyle, blood pressure, cholesterol, work stress and more. They receive a personal health report with their risk assessment and recommendations on how to improve their health.

In the semi-annual survey carried out in the first half of 2023, NN employees’ engagement remained high at 7.9 (stable compared to the second half of 2022). The results show that colleagues feel that there is a good match between the values of NN and their own, that they receive the right support to work in a hybrid setup, and that their work is valued. We continue to focus on process efficiency and collaboration between departments, which remain improvement areas.

All ten business units within NN International Insurance were certified as Top Employer for the fifth time. For the first time, NN Group was included in the Top 10 ranking companies in Europe, as a result of having more than five business units certified as Top Employer in Europe with a high aggregated score.

Financial strength – Strong results and resilient balance sheet

We aim to maintain a strong balance sheet and generate attractive financial returns for shareholders. Operating capital generation (OCG) showed a year-on-year increase of 14.8% to EUR 997 million in the first half of 2023 on a like-for-like basis. Our Solvency II ratio increased to 201% from 197% at 31 December 2022, mainly driven by strong OCG, partly offset by capital flows to shareholders.

We successfully conducted a liability management transaction to proactively address part of the subordinated notes due for refinancing for 2024. We issued EUR 1 billion of dated green subordinated notes on 3 May 2023 to repurchase subordinated notes for the same amount. We continue to have ample financial flexibility given our remaining tiering capacity and low financial leverage ratio.

Society – Investing in climate solutions and our communities

In July, we published our updated Climate Action Plan which describes the steps we are taking towards net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. For example, we further tightened our stance on proprietary investments in the oil and gas sector to also include conventional oil and gas activities. New investments in the sector will be directed only to companies that take adequate action to align their business strategies with the Paris Agreement. We also included interim targets for our residential mortgages and insurance underwriting portfolios.

In February, we announced the launch of a EUR 300 million investment fund for infrastructure climate solutions, together with Rivage Investment. The fund finances infrastructure assets aimed at addressing climate change, focusing on wind, solar, hydro, batteries and energy management solutions.

We continued to invest in our communities to support people’s financial, physical and/or mental well-being. We organised our annual company-wide volunteer week with 3,215 colleagues participating, reaching more than 9,330 people and supporting 35 charities. On a local level, NN Romania launched the first scholarship fund in the country to support the education of students who want to start their own business, but have limited financial means. In partnership with a local organisation, NN increased students’ chances to become entrepreneurs through scholarships amounting over EUR 200,000.

As part of our commitment to promoting people’s health and financial well-being through physical activity, NN has been the proud sponsor of the NN Marathon Rotterdam since 2015. This year, we partnered with the Youth Education Fund to offer primary school children and coaches from vulnerable neighbourhoods the opportunity to participate in the NN Kids Run. In Poland, Nationale-Nederlanden became the title sponsor of the Warsaw Marathon. The partnership aims to encourage citizens to focus on their well-being. During the marathon, runners and visitors had free access to medical tests in the NN area.

Press call

David Knibbe (CEO), Annemiek van Melick (CFO) and Bernhard Kaufmann (CRO) will host a press call to discuss the 1H23 results at 07:45 CET on Tuesday, 29 August 2023. Journalists can join the press call by registering via this link.

Analyst and investor call

David Knibbe (CEO), Annemiek van Melick (CFO) and Bernhard Kaufmann (CRO) will host an analyst and investor conference call to discuss the 1H23 results at 10:00 CET on Tuesday, 29 August 2023. Members of the investment community can follow the live audio webcast on NN Group - Investors (nn-group.com).

Analysts can participate in the Q&A by registering according to the following instructions:

• Register for the conference call online via this link
• After registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing the dial-in number and personal PIN code
• Use these details to dial in to the conference call

Financial calendar

• Publication 2H23 results: 29 February 2024

Additional information on www.nn-group.com

• NN Group 1H23 Financial Supplement, NN Group 1H23 Analyst Presentation, NN Group Company Profile and NN Group ESG presentation
• NN Group 30 June 2023 Condensed consolidated interim financial information