mm
service Mr. Van Dijk had rendered the company.
Mr. Van Dijk left FGH on December 31, 1986.
To succeed Mr. Van Dijk as president of the
executive board, Mr. WA.J.M. van der Heijden
was first appointed acting president and, with
effect from March 10, 1987, president of the exec
utive board.
After thorough preparations, we are now in
the process of carrying out a reorganization, the
object of which is to make the company more
market-oriented and responsive in its activities
and at the same time to bring costs into line with
forecast revenues. Partly as a consequence of the
greater degree of automation being introduced
into the loan administration system, the loss of
approximately 60 jobs in the years ahead will be
unavoidable.
These various developments coupled with
the return of tranquillity on the funding front
give us confidence that, as an independently
operating part of the AEGON Group, FGH, with
its specialized product package, will be able to
meet the challenge of the increasingly tough
competition of the marketplace.
Finance Business in The Netherlands
In our domestic finance business, we succeeded
in strengthening our position in various sectors
of the market in 1986, partly as a result of the
efforts of the regional branches. A striking feature
was the increase in demand for construction
loans. By expanding the variety of finance instru
ments available including differentiation as
regards terms of loans and interest conditions -
the finance business was able to respond more
effectively than ever before to customers’ wishes.
The total amount of new business was 8%
up in 1986 compared with 1985.
The FGH Capital Mortgage, in the short
time it has been on the market, has proved to be
an important supplement to our range of loan
products aimed at the private individual. The
Deposit Mortgage also remained a success. Our
cautious identification of an improvement in the
housing market in our previous report was con
firmed in 1986, with an increase in the volume of
transactions in this sector.
In 1986 we were obliged to foreclose in 131
cases (1985: 185), resulting in our acquisition of
41 properties (1985: 102).
Despite the signs of some improvement in
the market, competition in our sector of the
financial services market has been and remains
very strong, with a wide diversity among
suppliers. In these circumstances, success, that is
to say expansion, albeit gradual, of our market
share, will only be possible on the basis of a clear-
cut approach as regards the individual sectors of
the market. Our marketing effort will concen
trate on the commercial property market in all its
aspects. In addition, we shall be giving special
attention to marketing efforts targeted at people
with upmarket homes, for whom our Deposit
Mortgage and Capital Mortgage have proved to
be excellent products. This marketing activity
will of course have to be supported by a continu
ous drive to improve the product to match and to
anticipate the requirements of our target groups.
FGH Real Estate
Again in 1986, the emphasis was on the disposal
of properties. A number of developments became
ripe for disposal, particularly with the disappear
ance to a large extent of the unrented space in
our existing portfolio.
The sale went ahead on two combined
office/shopping developments, one in Amsterdam
and one in Ede. Negotiations are still being con
ducted with various institutional investors con
cerning the sale of a number of office develop
ments. In 1987 we expect once again to be able
to conclude a number of deals, although we shall
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