Insurance group Aegon on Thursday confirmed it booked a loss of €1.1bn in the full-year 2008.

Ageon booked €100m profit in the first nine months but this was wiped out by a €1.2bn loss in the final quarter of the year, largely due to write-offs on investments.
Aegon said in a statement it will continue to focus on cutting costs and freeing up capital by reducing its exposure to risky investments.
CEO Alex Wynaendts declined to give a specific outlook for the first quarter but told reporters: ‘In the short term our numbers are going to be impacted by fair value items’.