Commentaries
Now raising intellectual capital
Aegon raises money to repay the taxpayer
LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) – As stock markets rally, a chief executive’s thoughts turn to getting the government off the shareholder register.
The strongest U.S. banks have already shrugged off the TARP, with its tiresome restrictions on executive pay. In Britain, Lloyds Banking Group has toyed with a jumbo capital raising as a way off the hook of the British government’s fiendishly complex asset protection scheme.
In the Netherlands too, the financial sector is looking to shrug off the bonds of state assistance. Dutch insurer Aegon is the latest with a plan to pay back government loans.
However, wriggling out altogether won’t be easy. The Dutch government has structured its rescue operation so that recipients have to pay a hefty tax to get out altogether.
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The Wall
