Brief Introduction to Allianz SE

Allianz SE - repositioned legal form under EU Law

Resulting from the merger of RAS Holding (Riunione Adriatica di Sicurta Holding S.p.A.) into Allianz AG, Allianz transformed its legal status from a German stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft, or AG) into a European company (Societas Europaea, or SE) on 13 October 2006and became the first listed German company to convert itself into a European Company listed as stock corporation based on European Union law.

"Being an SE much better reflects what Allianz already is today: A truly international financial services provider with a European home market and German roots."

Michael Diekmann, CEO of Allianz SE

Allianz SE is one of the world's leading insurers and financial services providers with a presence in more than 70 markets with over 170,000 employees. Allianz serves more than 80 million clients globally through its core businesses of life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, as well as asset management and banking.

Fiscal year 2007 was another very successful year for Allianz Group despite a challenging financial markets environment. All business segments contributed to the successful overall results. The total revenues reached 102.6 billion euros, operating profit climbed by 9% to 10.9 billion euros. Net income rose by 13.5% to 8 billion euros year-on-year. The premium income for Property and Casualty insurance business was 44.3 billion euros, while in the life and health segment, operating profit rose 16.8% to a record level of almost 3 billion euros. Assets under Management for third parties, as of 31 Dec 2007, increased to 765 billion euros.

"Despite challenging conditions in 2007, we were able to further improve our operating efficiency and profitable growth, and to achieve a record result for the year," said Michael Diekmann, CEO of Allianz SE, "thanks to the well-diversified business activities of the Group, we were less vulnerable to shocks and cycles in individual markets and segments."

Owing to its strong global business position in the insurance and financial services industry and its solid capitalization, Allianz is rated financially strong by the global rating agencies Standard & Poor's and the US insurance rating body, A.M. Best.

Allianz – History and Development

Allianz was founded in 1890 in Berlin, Germany. Today, its headquarters are located in Munich, the capital of Bavaria in southern Germany.

Since the early years of the 20th century, Allianz has been active in the international insurance market. It covered and compensated for high profile claims such as the devastating earthquake in San Francisco in 1906 and the sinking of the "Titanic" ocean liner. During the "German economic recovery" period of the 1950s, Allianz powered ahead to become the largest insurer in Germany. It resumed its international activities at the end of the '60s.

During the '80s and ‘90s, Allianz conducted numerous strategic acquisitions in Europe and North America with well-known insurance companies such as RAS, Cornhill, AGF, Fireman's Fund and Life USA Insurance, and further strengthened its position as international insurer. Today, more than 70 percent of Allianz's gross written premiums are generated from businesses outside Germany, a clear indication of Allianz's successful efforts to be a leading international player.

In 1998, Allianz took the strategic decision to combine its asset management activities into a separate core business. With the subsequent acquisition of US-based asset managers PIMCO Advisors, Nicholas Applegate, and Dresdner Bank, Allianz further reinforced its reputation as a leading institutional investor. In October 2004, Allianz was named the Global Market Leader in asset management. As a major investor, Allianz holds stakes in numerous domestically and internationally renowned companies.

Allianz transformed its legal status from a German stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft, or AG) into a European company (Societas Europaea, or SE) on 13 October 2006 and became the first listed German company to convert itself into a European Company listed as stock corporation based on European Union law.