Jos Baeten, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO: ‘We have had a strong first half year. This is reflected in higher sales, a rise in customer satisfaction, high employee engagement and a robust operating result and strong capital creation. While our service to customers continues unabated, we are working hard to successfully combine the businesses of Aegon Nederland and a.s.r. On July 4, we completed the transaction and Aegon Nederland became part of ASR Nederland. The next step is the legal merger of the two entities. This is scheduled for 1 October this year at the earliest. After that, we can start the actual integration of activities. We intend to provide with an update on the progress of the combining of businesses of Aegon Nederland and a.s.r. by the end of 2023.’