Vienna Insurance Group AG (VIG) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I hereby call today's 30th Annual General Meeting to order. And I welcome you very warmly to the Annual General Meeting of the Vienna Insurance Group AG. This year's Annual General Meeting will take place as usual in the Wiener Städtische. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, we are again unfortunately able to welcome you here in person this year. Once again, the managing Board has decided to hold this year's AGM virtually in order to protect the shareholders and other participants. Therefore, in accordance with the COVID-19 Company Law Act and the COVID-19 Company Law Ordinance, today, we'll be holding a second virtual general meeting, which will be broadcast in its entirety on the internet. I would like to welcome our shareholders and all interested parties who are following this Annual General Meeting via the internet. Here at the AGM venue, I would like to welcome the members of the Managing Board. First, the Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Rudolf Ertl; the second Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Georg Riedl; and the Chair of the Audit Committee, Ms Dr. [indiscernible]. Our notary public, Mr. Stefan, will be certifying the resolutions adopted at this annual general meeting, and he will drop the minutes in according with Section 120 of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act. The representatives of the KPMG Austria GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft appointed as auditors for the 2020 financial year and our 4 special proxy holders. Dr. Michael Knap, from the Association of Investors, IVA; Christoph Moser, attorney at lam; Dr. Christoph Nauer, attorney at law; and Dr. Richard Wolf, also attorney at law. I would also like to welcome the independent attorney at law Dr. [ Harald ], who will be reading out the shareholders' questions. I would also like to welcome the sign language interpreter and the employees in the technical department as well as the employees who are available to answer questions at this year's virtual Annual General Meeting. The other members of the Supervisory Board can be contacted for queries, if necessary. If it seems appropriate to me, for example, if the AGM goes on for an extended period, I will hand over the chairmanship of the meeting to the Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Rudolf Ertl, who is present. It may, therefore, be the case that the chairmanship of the AGM alternate between him and myself. Today's AGM will be broadcast in full on the internet in audio visual format and in realtime. The realtime broadcast gives the shareholders the opportunity to follow the meeting and the Q&A period as if they were present here at the AGM. This means that during the Q&A period, and only during the Q&A period, we'll have the possibility to ask questions concerning all items in the agenda. After the end of the question-and-answer period, the items on the agenda will be individually put to a vote. To be on the safe side, we have prepared 2 live streams so that you can follow the AGM via high-quality sound and image broadcast. However, if there is a total breakdown in the broadcast, we will interrupt the AGM and resume it only once the live stream has been restored. We would like to point out that the company is only responsible for the use of technical means of communication to the extent that these are attributable to its severe. Pursuant to Section 18 (4) of the articles of association and the language of the AGM is German, which is why the virtual AGM will also be held in German. The holding of the AGM as a virtual AGM will again lead to modifications in the usual procedure and in the exercise of shareholders' rights. The expertise of shareholders' rights will again be subject to the following changes in particular. Regarding the right to information and the right to speak, I would like to ask Mr. Stefan, the notary public, to elaborate. Please, Mr. Stefan, you have the floor.

The shareholders were asked to submit their questions prior to the AGM. Some shareholders have complied with this request. The questions already submitted will be answered during the Q&A period. Shareholders also have the opportunity to submit their questions during the AGM in text form only via e-mail to the e-mail address [email protected]. Please note that the questions must be written in German. Please use only the email address [email protected]. And if possible, use the question form published on the company's website. If you send your questions in the form of a simple e-mail, namely without using the question form, please state the shareholder's first and last name, date of birth or company name and company register number, so that the identity and correspondence with the deposit certificate can be established. In the interest of efficiency, we furthermore request that the written questions be kept brief and concise. Pursuant to Section 3-1 of the COVID-19 Company Law Ordinance, reasonable time limits may be set for the submission of requests to speak. As is customary at a -- annual general meeting, the procedures will be structured in terms of time. Toward the end, the Supervisory Board Chair will announce a specific time after which questions can still be submitted. After all request to speak up have been dealt with, the Supervisory Board Chair will declare the end of the Q&A period to allow enough time for the voting procedure on the motions submitted on the individual agenda items to be concluded properly. A sign language interpreter will be used for the entire duration of the AGM. Please also note that voting rights is the right to propose resolutions and the right to object can only be accessed via 1 of the 4 special proxy holders. In the run-up to the AGM, shareholders were given the opportunity to authorize and issue instructions to one of the aforementioned proxy holders. However, shareholders can still issue instructions to their proxy holders. During the AGM, they can issue new instructions or amend instructions ordered. To do so, please send an e-mail to the e-mail address of the proxy holder that you submitted your proxy to. To Mr. Knap, [email protected]; to [ Mr. Mozo, [email protected] ]; to [ Mr. Nawa, [email protected] ]; to Mr. Wolf, [email protected]. Please use only the e-mail as a means of communication with your proxy holder. This applies to submitting a motion, casting a vote as well as raising an objection at this virtual AGM. To exercise your right to information and/or to speak, please use only the e-mail address [email protected]. And if possible, the question form published on the website. For more details, please refer to the participation information that has been posted on the website.

Thank you very much to our notary public, Mr. Stefan. Before we move on to the agenda, I would like to note. First of all, the convocation was published in the Vienna title on April 20, 2021. Furthermore, the convocation was also published on the company's website and via the electronic information dissemination system, [indiscernible] throughout the EU on April 21, along with the announcement of the agenda and all other information required by law in accordance with Section 106 of the Stock Corporation Act. All required documents have been available on the company's website since April 20, 2021 and/or April 23, 2021. The registration shows that 105,645,044 shares were registered within registration periods stipulated by the articles of association. There were no proposals for additional or amendments to the agenda. Therefore, the AGM today can only discuss and past resolutions on the agenda items announced in the convocation of the AGM. Fifthly, in accordance with the provisions of the Stock Corporation Act and the articles of association, a quorum is present at today's AGM for all items on the agenda. Sixth, the attendance at today's AGM will be determined anew for each vote on each agenda item and announced by myself in the course of the respective vote. I will make the list of attendees available to the notary public for inspection before the first vote. The respective attendance will then also be announced after each vote together with the voting results. We will now present the reports and proposed resolutions on all agenda items on block. Thereafter, the special proxy holders will read out the motions for resolutions that have been submitted up to this point. We will then hold the Q&A period on all agenda items and answer all questions received before or during the AGM up until the end of the Q&A period. At the end of the Q&A period, I will ask, again, for shareholder motions or amendments to motions before we will vote on block on all motions for resolutions. So ladies and gentlemen, this is a sum up of all of the proceedings to be carried out at today's AGM. We now come to the agenda. I would now like to ask our notary public, Mr. Stefan, to read out the agenda and the proposed resolutions. Please, Mr. Stefan.

Agenda item 1, the presentation of the approved annual financial statements for 2020, including the management report of the Consolidated Corporate Governance Report 2020, the Sustainability Report 2020, consolidated nonfinancial report, the consolidated financial statements for 2020, including the group management report, the proposal for the appropriation of profits and the report of the Supervisory Board Section 96 of the Stock Corporation Act.

Thank you very much, Mr. Stefan for reading the first agenda item. All of these reports have been available as documents of -- for the AGM on the company's website since April 20, 2021. And from the publication of the annual results, the annual financial statements and the consolidated financial statements were audited by KPMG Austria and received an unqualified audit opinion. The management report and the group management report are consistent with the annual and consolidated financial statements. The principles of the remuneration system are presented in detail on the Consolidated Corporate Governance Report 2020. We would also make reference to the explanations in this respect in the Consolidated Corporate Governance Report 2020. In addition, we'd also point to the remuneration policy as well as to the remuneration report 2020 to the proposed resolutions as well as to the explanations on the proposed resolutions that have been published on the company's website. Now I would like to ask Mr. Stefan to read out the proposed resolutions for all other items on the agenda. Please, Mr. Stefan.

Second item on the agenda is the resolution on the appropriation of the net profit for the year. As per the annual financial statements for 2020, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the AGM passed the following resolution. The net profit for the year in the amount of EUR 239,230,814.01, as recognized in the annual financial statements for 2020, shall be appropriated as follows in accordance with the proposal made by the Management Board, and approved by the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board and by the entire Supervisory Board. Distribution of ordinary shares, EUR 0.75 dividend per share for 128 million ordinary shares. In other words, a total of EUR 96 million. The dividend payment day shall be on the 27th of May, 2021, the record date. Evidence date for the dividend shall be on the 26th of May 2021. And the ex dividend for this dividend shall be on the 25th of May 2021. Accordingly, the total amount distributed will be EUR 96 million. So the profit carried forward, the residual amount will be carried forward to new accounts. Third, resolution on the Remuneration Report 2020, the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board propose that the Annual General Meeting pass the following resolution. Resolution: the remuneration reports 2020 for the Vienna Insurance Group AG shall be approved as follows. Fourth, resolution on discharging the management board for the financial year 2020. The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the annual general meeting pass the following resolution. Resolution: discharge shall be granted to the members of the Managing Board for the financial year 2020. Five, resolution on discharging the Supervisory Board members for the financial year 2020. The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the AGM pass the following resolution. Resolution: discharge shall be granted to the members of the Supervisory Board for the financial year 2020. Sixth, resolution on the authorization of the Managing Board pursuant to Section 169 of the Stock Corporation Act to increase the company's share capital by a nominal amount of up to EUR 66,443,734.10 by the 20th of May 2026, at least to the issue of EUR 64 million no par value registered to bearer shares against the contribution of cash or in kind or combination thereof, also in several tranches and to decide on the content of the shareholders' rights on the inclusion of the shareholders' inscription rights and in other terms and conditions for the issue of shares with the approval from the Supervisory Board. This authorization will replace the resolution passed on the 26th Annual General Meeting held on the 12th of May 2017 under Item 5 on the agenda. The first sentence of Article 4 (2) of the articles of association will be amended accordingly. The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board propose that the AGM pass the following resolution as follows: authorization of the Management Board pursuant to Section 169 of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act, which resolved at the 26th AGM on the 12th of May 2017 to increase the company's share capital by May 11, 2022, at the latest is revoked and replaced by the following new authorization. The Management Board shall be authorized pursuant to Section 169 of the Stock Corporation Act to increase the company's share capital also in several tranches by a nominal amount of up to EUR 66,443,734.10 by the 20th of May 2026, at least to the issue of EUR 64 million no par value registered to bearer shares against the contribution in cash or in kind or a combination thereof. The authorization requiring the content of the shareholders' rights, excluding the subscription rights and other terms and conditions sentence 2, sentence 4 of Article 4 (2) of the articles shall remain enforced without changes. The first sentence of Article 4 (2), articles of association will be amended accordingly and shall read as follows: the Managing Board pursuant to Section 169 of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act, to increase by 25th May, 2026, at the latest, the share capital of the company, also in several tranches, by a nominal amount of up EUR 66,443,734.10 by issuing up to 64 million no par value shares in registered or bearer form against contributions in cash or in kind or a combination thereof. Seven, resolution on the authorization of the Managing Board to issue participating bonds for the total nominal amount of up to EUR 2 billion by 20th of May, 2026, at the latest with the approval from the Supervisory Board, pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation Act also in several tranches. Also with the exclusion of shareholder subscription rights and define other terms and conditions for the issue of participating bonds. Authorization to replace the resolution passed on the 26th AGM on the 12th of May 2017 under Item 6 of the agenda, the Managing Board and Supervisory Board propose that the AGM pass the following resolution. Resolution: authorization of the Managing Board pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation Act was resolved at the 26th Annual General Meeting on the 12th of May 2017 to issue participating bonds as revoked and replaced by the following new authorization, the Managing Board shall be authorized to issue participating bonds in a total nominal amount up to EUR 2 billion by the 20th of May 2026, with approval from the Supervisory Board pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation Act also in several tranches. Also with the exclusion of shareholders subscription rights, the Managing Board is authorized to define the issue features and bond features as well as the securities terms of the participating bonds, such as interest rates, offering price, term denomination with approval to the Supervisory Board in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the Stock Corporation Act. The interest rates and the offering price of the participating bonds shall be calculated on the basis of accepted methods of financial mathematics by means of an accepted pricing procedure. Eight, the resolution on the authorization of the Managing Board to issue, once or several times, convertible bonds in a total nominal amount of up to EUR 2 billion by 20th of May 2026, with approval from the Supervisory Board pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation Act, with an exclusion of shareholders subscription rights and to define all the terms and conditions, the issue in the conversion procedure for the convertible bonds. This authorization shall replace the resolution passed on the 26th Annual General Meeting on the 12th of May 2017 under Item 7 on the agenda. The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board propose that the AGM pass the following resolution as follows: the Managing Board's authorization pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation Act, which was resolved at the 26th AGM on the 12th of May 2017, to issue convertible bearer bonds by the 11th of May 2022, once or several times if revoked and replaced by the following new authorization. The Managing Board shall be authorized to issue convertible bonds pursuant to Section 174 of Stock Corporation Act, once or several times in a total nominal amount of up to EUR 2 billion by May 20, 2026, with approval from the Supervisory Board. And to grant the owners of convertible bonds, conversion or subscription rights of up to 30 million ordinary bearer shares in the company with a proportionate amount of the share capital of up to EUR 31,145,500.36, also with the exclusion of shareholders subscription rights. Convertible forms may also be issued limited to the euro equivalent. In the currency of any member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD. According to federal law gazette number 248/1961, as amended from time to time. Convertible bonds may also be issued through a company which is directly or indirectly wholly owned by the company. In that case, the managing Board is authorized to issue on behalf of a company, a guarantee for the convertible bonds with approval from the Supervisory Board, and to grant the owners of convertible bonds conversion rights to ordinary shares in the company. The issue amount as well as the terms and conditions for the issue of the convertible bonds, in particular, interest rate, term denomination, dilution protection, conversion modalities, conversion price, conversion and/or subscription conditions will be determined by the Managing Board with the approval of the Supervisory Board. Furthermore, the issues and conversion ratio shall be determined in a way safeguarding the interest of the company, the current shareholders and the subscribers of the convertible bonds by a market standard pricing procedure, calculated on the basis of accepted market standard methods and the share price of the company's shares. Ninth, resolution on the conditional increase of the share capital in the amount of up to EUR 31,145,500.36 by an issue of up to 30 million new ordinary bearer shares in order to grant subscription or conversion rights to the owners of convertible bonds. This conditional increase of the share capital shall replace the resolution passed in the 26th Annual General Meeting of the 12th of May 2017, under item H of the agenda, the first and the second sentence of Article 4 (3) of the articles of association will be amended accordingly. The third and fourth sentence of Article 4 (3) of the articles of association shall to be deleted. The Managing Board and Supervisory Board propos that the AGM pass the following resolution as follows. The conditional increase of the share capital in accordance with Section 159 (2) #1 of the Stock Corporation Act as resolved by the 26th AGM on the 12th of May 2017, is revoked and replaced with the following conditional increase of the share capital. The share capital has increased on a conditional basis in accordance with Section 159 (2) #1 of the Stock Corporation Act by up to EUR 31,145,500.36 by issuing up to 30 million ordinary bearer shares. The conditional increase of the share capital will only take place to the extent owners of convertible bonds issued on the basis of the resolution of the AGM on the 21st of May 2021, exercise their subscription rights or conversion rights. The third and fourth sentence of Article 4 (3) of the articles of association are deleted. The first and second sentences of Article 4 (3) of the articles of association shall be amended as follows: the share capital has been increased on a conditional basis in accordance with Section 159 (2) 1 of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act by up to EUR 31,145,500.36 by issuing up to 30 million ordinary bearer shares. The additional capital increase will probably be carried out only to the extent that the owners of convertible bonds issued on the basis of the resolution of the AGM of the 21st of May 2021 exercise there subscription rights for conversion option. 10, a resolution on the authorization of the management board pursuant to Section 65 (1) #1 as well as 1A, 1B of the Stock Corporation Act to acquire treasury ordinary bearer shares to the maximum extent permitted by law during a term of 30 months from the day of the resolution of the AGM. The equivalent to be paid upon redemption must not be lower than a maximum of 50% of the unweighted average closing price of the 10 trading days proceeding redemption and not higher than a maximum of 10% of the unweighted average closing a price of the 10 trading days preceding redemption. At the Management Board's option, the shares may be acquired via the stock exchange or a public offering or in any other expedient manner that is permitted by law. Resolution, the authorization of the Management Board to sell the acquired treasury shares, with the exclusion of the shareholders' subscription rights in any way, as permitted by law, and other than via the stock exchange or a public offering during a maximum period of 5 years, so that the resolution order satisfy any obligations connection with the convertible bonds issued based on the resolution of the AGM on the 21st of May 2021. This authorization to replace the resolution passed on the 28th AGM, on the 21st of May 2019, under Item 5 of the agenda. The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the AGM pass the following resolution as follows: the authorization of the Management Board pursuant to Section 65 (1) 4, 8 and 1A, 1B of the Stock Corporation Act as resolved by the 28th AGM on the 24th of May 2019, to repurchase treasury shares and resell these treasury shares will be revoked and replaced by the following new authorization. The Managing Board is authorized pursuant to Section 65 (1), #8 and 1A and 1B of the Stock Corporation Act to acquire treasury ordinary bearer shares to the maximum extent permitted by law during a term of 30 months from the day of the resolution at the AGM. The equivalent to be paid upon redemption must not be lower than a maximum 50% of the unweighted average closing price on the Vienna Stock Exchange of the 10 trading days preceding redemption and not higher than a maximum of 10% of the unweighted average closing price of the 10 trading days preceding redemption. At the Managing Board's option, the shares may be acquired via the stock exchange or a public offering or in any other expedient manner that is permitted by law. In the event of a redemption via a public offer the cutoff date for the end of the calculation period is the day on which the intention make public offers announced Section 5 (2) and (3) of Takeover Act, the Managing Board is further entitled for the period of 5 years from the resolution of the exclusion of the shareholders subscription rights to use federal shares in order to satisfy the obligations connection to the convertible bonds and on the basis of the resolution of the AGM of 21st of May 2021 to sell treasury shares in a way that is permitted by law or any other via the stock exchange or public offering. 11, election of the auditor and group auditor for the financial year 2022, the Supervisory Board proposes that the AGM pass the following resolution as follows. KPMG Austria Gmbh is appointed auditor and group auditor for the financial year 2021. KPMG Austria GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft is appointed auditor and group auditor for the financial year 2021. KPMG Austria has a company register #269873y. #12, resolution on the increase of the maximum number of Supervisory Board members permitted by the Articles of Associating to 12 by amendment of Article 10 (2) of the articles of association, the Supervisory Board proposes that the AGM pass the following resolution. Pursuant to Article 10 (2) of the Articles of Association in the current version, the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG consists at the most of 10 members. The maximum number of Supervisory board permitted by the articles of association have increased to 12 members. With around 50 insurance companies, Vienna Insurance Group AG is active in 30 countries. The increase of the maximum number of supervisory board members is permitted by the articles of association to 12 members shall enable the VIG group to utilize additional expertise considering the international presence for the group -- of the VIG group, also in connection with increasing regulatory requirements. The additional seats shall be filled in line with the Supervisory Board's proposals for 2 additional members of the Supervisory Board as set out on Item 14 on the agenda. Resolution: the maximum number of supervisory boards permitted pursuant to Article 10 (2) of the articles of association shall be increased from currently 10 to 12 members, shareholder representatives. Article 10 (2) of the articles of association shall be amended as follows: the Supervisory Board shall consist of at least 3, at most 12, members elected by the general meeting, shareholder representatives. 13, resolution on the increase of the number of Supervisory Board members, the Supervisory Board proposes that the AGM pass the following resolution. Upon approval by resolution and registration of the amendments of the articles of association proposed in Item 12 on the agenda for this AGM and the company registered the maximum number of Supervisory Board members permitted by the articles of association shall be increased from currently 10 to 12. Taking into account this amendment of the articles of association, this number of Supervisor Board members shall be increased at this -- in this AGM from currently 10 to 12, in this regard, reference is made to the explanatory information in connection with Item 12 on the agenda. Resolution: The number of the members of the Supervisory Board elected by the AGM will be increased from currently 10 to 12. 14, election to the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board proposes that the AGM pass the following resolution. Currently, the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG [indiscernible] the minimum requirement pursuant to Section 86 (7) of the Stock Corporation Act can consist of 10 members, of which there are 4 women and 6 men. In order to fulfill the commitment of a Supervisory Board with 12 members, 2 members have to be elected to the Supervisory Board. Pursuant to Section 86 (7) of the Stock Corporation Act, the Supervisory Board has to consist of at least 4 women and at least 4 men. The minimum quota required by law will thus be satisfied irrespective of the election of the proposed numbers. Resolutions. Ms. [indiscernible] is elected as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Vienna Insurance Group AG, with the effect that the registration of the amendment of the articles of association in the company register pursuant to item 12 of the agenda of this AGM until the end of the AGM, which passes the resolution on the discharge for the financial year 2023. Mr. [indiscernible] is elected as a member of the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG, with the effect from the registration of the amendment of the articles of association in the company registered pursuant to item 12 on the agenda of this AGM until the end of the AGM, which passes the resolution on the discharge for the financial year 2023.

Thank you very much, Mr. Stefan for reading out the resolutions. Now I would like, ladies and gentlemen, to ask CEO, Elisabeth Stadler, to take the floor, and I would like to ask her to present us with her report on the business year 2020. Please. Ms. Stadler, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished shareholders, hello, and welcome to our virtual AGM for the VIG. I would like to welcome you on behalf of the entire Managing Board. This is an AGM that is taking place according to schedule, and I'm very happy to be able to report on the 2020 business year. I'm very grateful for your interest in the VIG group. Welcome to all of the members of our Supervisory Board as well as all of the colleagues in our 30 countries where we are active as well as all employees of our group who are assisting us in replying to the queries of the shareholders. All of our employees also would like to welcome all the employees following our AGM virtually. Many of them are in home office. Many of them have been working at home for a year, and this has become a normal thing. The year 2020 was a very special year. 2020, of course, will remain indelibly impressed on our memory. This led to the most difficult economic crisis in the last several years, but I can report on a great deal of positive developments. The Vienna International group has come through this very difficult period compared to -- well, stability and sustainability are key. These are 2 attributes that we have continued to strive for. These have been very important in the developments over the last several years, particularly in this very difficult year 2020. This stability is our greatest capital, and it is a prerequisite that we are able to keep our promises. We need to protect what matters. Under this model, we have our current annual report, which provide you with the financial figures, the management report and financials with detailed figures and other facts on our group. Stability. And this has been the case for 30 years. For 30 years, our compass has been pointing to the East. Immediately after the follow of the Iron Curtain, our group was a first mover in the countries in the Eastern Europe. We were able to look ahead and recognize opportunities early on, together with our pioneers have allowed us to position ourselves as a clear number one, and this will also support us going into the future. Today, we are represented and active in over 30 countries. The Vienna Insurance Group has developed considerably since 1824, we back then -- sorry, 1989, we had EUR 1 billion in premium volume, 5,600 employees and 3 companies. In the last 30 years, we have grown enormously. We have EUR 10.4 billion in premium volumes, over 25,000 employees and around 50 companies, as I said, active in 30 countries. We are the clear market leader in CEE with 19% market share in October 2020. As I said, it was exactly 30 years that the VIG group launched its expansion into CEE. So step for step -- step-by-step, we have established ourselves in these countries. It is very important to stress that we have pursued a very clear long-term strategy. We are entering new markets, and we're there to stay, and we do this even in difficult times. This was true during the financial crisis in the past, and this is also true during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic left its mark on the world economy, not just 2019, in 2020 there were many measures aimed at covering the spread of the virus left a deep mark on growth. The International Monetary Fund believes that 2020 global GDP will drop by 3%. Central and Eastern Europe were very much affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, consumption and investments dropped considerably last year. Foreign trade fell by double-digit figure last year. Even though economic output in the early part of 2020 collapsed in an unprecedented manner, the subsequent recovery has also been unprecedented. And there are a number of examples here from our region. Look at Serbia. According to preliminary estimates, it had the least largest impact on its economy, with minus 1% expected in real GDP. Particularly due to massive political support and other measures. Poland and Romania have also suffered considering less in economic output, very -- Croatia, unfortunately, is the other end of the scale as it is heavily dependent on tourism, and it is -- has a real GDP decline of 8.5%. Austria, of course, as you can see in the right line on the chart, is amongst those countries with a weaker economic output with a minus 7.2% due to its dependence on tourism. All in all, for Central and Eastern Europe, a 4.5% decrease in GDP growth is expected for 2020. Although unemployment rates rose in this region, compared to other Western European regions, these figures were rather moderate. Ladies and gentlemen, after a very good beginning to 2020. And of course, we reported on this at last year's AGM, the second quarter of last year, as expected, was heavily impacted by the corona measures. The impact was widely varied in the many countries where the VIG Group is active. Starting in June, we saw a trend with various waves, so to speak, with various lockdowns and lifting of lockdowns. And as I said this varied widely from country to country, the VIG business model of broad diversity over our countries, markets, sales avenues and products has proven its worth over this very difficult period. Our top priority in this period, of course, has always been the health and safety of our employees, partners and customers. Also in the times of working at home, insurance companies have always been in contact with the colleagues and customers and provided them with the customer service, of course, through different channels. The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed us to accelerate our move to full digitalization, probably more than we ever would have expected. Also, the issue of health was supported intensively with digital solutions. An excellent example was a digital birth preparation course provided by our group. And this is very popular amongst our customers. In the companies of our group, we transferred to working very quickly all of the safety measures for our workers were taken group-wide. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had about 70% on average of our employees in home office. Here, you see the activities of 2020 summarized in brief. We reduced working trips. We had different working models. We opened COVID-19 testing in streets and areas in a number of our countries. And vaccination strategies were also developed. Even though these have not really been fully implemented, we also have adjusted liquidity reports. IT infrastructure has also been adapted. Other activities have been adapted to virtual financing. We're also monitoring infection rates within our group on a constant basis. I can also report that since the beginning of the pandemic, we've had 3,606 cases of employees who have fallen ill with COVID-19. In this period, we have also tried to provide support and other activities related to this. We have an interest in APEIRON. We have seen this as a focus of a sustainably oriented company. This is a social activity. This is -- we are an important capital provider, particularly in times of crisis. Other activities are many, of course. I've only listed a few here, and these have been implemented by many of our insurance companies. And for this reason, we are able to shoulder our corporate social responsibility in Romania, in a number of countries, such as Georgia and in the Czech Republic. We were able to provide financial support for people in -- working in organizations that support people that have been affected by COVID-19, and they are helping to curb the spread of the pandemic. Of course, I can give you innumerable examples of this. Here, you have specific examples from Austria in a number of our countries. Here, we support where we can our many companies by providing support to social organizations. So that they can carry out activities in a more intensive way and more widespread way and more quickly. We provide masks, assistance packages, care packages and we also provide assistance to care organizations. I think we have made an enormous contribution within our group with the many measures that we have taken in these very difficult times. And hopefully, we have been able to contribute to putting an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is another example from the COVID period. This is enormous acquisition deal that we engineered from working at home. All of the negotiations were negotiated from home. We carried out due diligence from home. During this period, we were able to connect all of our employees. And in this way, we were able to more or less finalize the Aegon transaction from last year, at least on an interim basis. This is a strategic acquisition. It is a perfect complement to our current portfolio. We were able to acquire 14 companies in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Turkey, with over EUR 600 million in [ insurance ], a pension fund volume of around EUR 5 billion asset management company, which has EUR 1.8 billion in managed assets of 4.5 million new customers. So we have a very strong position now in Hungary. And we are able to enter the life insurance market in Turkey. And our pension fund business was also -- we also received a significant boost. Information from the Hungarian Interior Minister reached us in April, which, unfortunately, is blocking our acquisition in Hungary. We are involved in very intense discussions and talks with the Hungarian government, with the Hungarian Finance Minister, and we hope that very soon, we'll be able to report of a positive resolution to this issue. So you can see on this slide, the transaction was carried out very quickly. At the end of that, we had the first information sheets. We had 1-month time in order to study all of the information, all of the documents to carry diligence and to include all of our bodies. So that at the end of November, we were able to submit a binding offer. And then 2 days later, this was accepted, and the signing took place at the end of November and at the beginning of December. So in the meantime, we have already provided information to the various regulatory authorities. And as we have said, we are in the midst of this green lighting process. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, in the last 5 years, we have seen a continuous improvement in our results. And here, we have created a solid foundation. This is a foundation that we will be able to build on for the future development of VIG. The COVID crisis year 2020 was one that we were able to master rather well. We will remain very conservative to our corporate policy. So we've shown that we are a very reliable partner, both in times of dynamic change. As well as in very challenging situations. As we saw quite clearly last year. And unfortunately, we are still confronted with these challenges this year. So the -- we were able to increase our premiums by 0.3%. This was a development, particularly that is very satisfactory. With regard to the pandemic, we had profit before tax of EUR 345.9 million, and this has -- puts us at the upper end of our corridor announced last year, this result, particularly against the backdrop of the pandemic is highly satisfactory. I'd also like to point out that our previous year results are EUR 668 million are included, and these have been deconsolidated in the interim. For the half year 2020, we had goodwill impairments of EUR 120 million for Bulgaria, Croatia and Georgia due to the review as of the 30th of June 2020. The goodwill impairments were evaluated, particularly in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw also reductions of the financial results. This is primarily due to COVID-19 and the resulting impairments as well the associated ongoing income from our capital investments. Adjusted for the special effects, 2020 would have resulted in an agreement -- increase of EUR 20 million compared to 2019. The combined ratio was also improved to 95%. We were able to achieve our goal here that for the agenda -- that we set ourselves -- for ourselves for the agenda 2020 to aim for a combined ratio over the long-term of 95%. In the business year 2020, we have a very solid financial year behind us. And in 2021, we are of course, planning to continue this trend. Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to review the results. On behalf of over 25,000 employees, colleagues, it is due to your commitment and devotion that we have been able to achieve this excellent performance. And for that reason, we would like to express our heartful gratitude. It is very important, particularly at this moment, for me, to express our enormous gratitude for your loyalty, for your support to our insurance group. And also, thank you for your tireless commitment and dedication. All of us have joined efforts to overcome this rate a couple of years, we exchanged a number of ideas through virtual channels. And what I'm very happy and very personally, we show the significant cohesion within our group during these very difficult times. Thank you very much for that. The business development, of course, was heavily affected by the pandemic. By the pandemic, of course, we have -- we've got a very good start into 2020. With a premium increase in the first 2 months, we were able to help offset the declines in other segments, particularly due to the various strict lockdown measures imposed in many countries. The development, of course, almost was normalized in other lockdown lifting periods. In the midst of 2020, we were back at pre COVID levels. And in the fall, we saw a tightening of the situation, particularly in CEE markets. However, I'm able to present to you that we're able to maintain in third party liability, at EUR 1.5 billion, we were able to increase that slightly. We will be able to also remain -- have posted a very good result in own damage. Here, you see all the other premiums written in our lines of business. 4 non-life, this shows a very excellent -- it's a very excellent reflection of our development of business. We have over EUR 1.5 billion, and we here, we're able to increase over 10% increase in premiums here. However, new business in life was rather difficult. This is primarily due to the reduced interest in concluding a policy. Of course, the people's priorities had shifted, and life insurance was not amongst the top priorities here in life insurance. For regular premiums, we had a minus of 1.5%. This was a slight decline. We had a stronger decline in line with our strategy with single premiums. We had a decline of 11.6% to EUR 883 million. So the combined ratio, this has to do with claims to costs, the ratio of claims to cost. It's just a very positive development. Here, you can see on this slide, we see the combined ratio in all countries, which remain below 100%. And almost everywhere, we were able to post improvements. Here, you have the solvency rate of the VIG group by the end of 2020. This was -- this was a 283%. This also includes the Solvency II transition rules. As is customary in the market, the capital investments on the right-hand side, as you can see, this also includes our cash equivalents. As you can see the figures, the end of December was at EUR 68.6 million, and this was at 2% above the previous year's of figures. The VIG share also got off to a very positive start last year, and on the 10th of January, it reached a share price of EUR 26.35, and this was the highest price for 2020 for the entire year. At the beginning of the corona virus, at the end of February, we saw a massive price -- our share drop -- price dropped on the stock markets and the VIG shares were also unable to escape this trend on the 18th of March. They reached the lowest price at EUR 13.9 in the third and fourth -- third quarter of 2020. VIG shares outperformed both ATS as well as the stocks, Europe 600 insurance index. However, their performance declined once again in the fourth quarter somewhat. In the last 3 months of the year, VIG shares increased by about 10%, while the ATS rose by about 1/3 and sector indices rose by almost 1/5. The strong increase in ATX, particularly in the last 3 months of 2020 was due to the larger stocks in the index. And these operate in significantly more cyclical sectors than the VIG. The VIG shares at close to 2025 to year at a price of EUR [ 20.80 ]. Compared to our German or Swiss peers, the recovery of VIG shares as of year-end 2020 was a bit weaker, but compared to our Italian or domestic peers, VIG shares performed significantly better. Currently, we're at about 23% to 24% here in terms of share price development. The ability has also been extremely important, and this is also reflected in our development. Ever since our IPO, 1994, we've always paid out a dividend. Shareholders. The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board have decided to propose the following payment of dividend in accordance with our dividend policy. A dividend per share of EUR 0.75. This is a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a payout quota of 41% -- 41.5%. This is in line with the -- our conservative capital planning as well as our dividend policy lays out a dividend payout of 30% to 60% according -- as again, as I said to our company policy, all of our shareholders are to participate in the excellent results of the VIG group, particularly in times of crisis. Dividend, as I said, is in line with the dividend policy, and this reflects the performance of the group and distinguished shareholders, I can assure you that this policy will apply once again to 2021. Accordingly, when we achieve our planned results, the next dividend will likely increase once again. Allow me briefly to take a brief look back on Agenda 2020. And I would like to conclude my presentation with this. We have the 3 pillars, 3 focal points, and these you'll be familiar with. From the presentation of last year's AGM, safeguarding future viability, optimization of the business model and organization and cooperation. Here, we have safeguarding future viability. We are developing our business model on an ongoing basis. And this will allow us to seize the opportunities presented in the future. The digital transformation in the group has been and is being driven forward in -- on a large scale, the expansion of the systems increases value creation and improves customer relationships, new forms of insurance. For example, in the area of mobility are being developed, particularly in very promising business areas, such as health insurance, reinsurance and bancassurance. These are being expanded in a very targeted way. The results is something we can be proud of. The VIG group is fit for the future, and we'll continue to adapt to a world of change. Second, optimization of our business model. Here, we improved our operating performance on an ongoing basis. We increased our cost efficiency. In this way, we were able to achieve a significant decline in combined ratio. At the beginning of our program in 2016, it came to 97.3%. Now in 2020, we have managed to shrink it to 95%. A number of measures are responsible for this as well as the active dedication displayed by our employees, a number of measures and activities such as anti-fraud management, closed file review, shared services and mergers of insurance companies and ongoing optimization of earnings in motor insurance. Organization and cooperation as you know, the VIG insurance group lives a decentralized structures of local companies efficient infrastructures. Diversity, for example, in the Agenda 2020, we also looked at the management of the group as well as the cooperation between our companies. So we wished to deepen and further these ties. Sustainability, of course, is deeply anchored, in the core of our strategy, we want to protect what matters. And against this backdrop, we have identified 5 very important areas of activity. CSR in the core business, customers, employees, society and environment. We don't want to just talk about sustainability. These are words that we live by. And this is also reflected in our reporting, our sustainability report 2020, we have expanded investments accordingly. We have equations of support, diversity is something that we focus on intensively throughout our group, local help, local assistance is very important. And naturally, we want to make a contribution to the climate balance. In 2021, we issued the first senior sustainable bonds of insurance company in Europe, and we're very proud of the many conditions of this bond that have been certified, has been very good 15 years with the longest maturity for a financial company. For issuing a bond in 2021, the interest rates is the lowest interest rate that a financial institution was able to introduce since 2008 in this format. And the VIG is the first insurance company in Europe that has issued a sustainability bond and not just a green bond. We also have a very colorful mix of investors, even ECB participation. The ECB was participated with an order of over 40% and over 50 institutional investors from over 12 countries. These were our subscribers for our bond. So social responsibility and commitment is very important in the VIG group. We've been doing this for several years now. And once again, this is reflected in a number of examples, there are innumerable examples. You know the social active day. This is also where stability is very important to us. We have been doing this since 2021. Here in 2021, it is celebrating its tenth anniversary. There are a number of other activities. As I said, providing masks, care packages, contact tracing support as well as financial support for many various local anti COVID measures. A very wonderful example is the heroes. For the heroes of our systems, we have the initiative caregivers with a heart, nurses with a heart. And of course, we wanted to honor all of those who have been active in caring and nursing both professionally well as in their personal lives. Here, this is another slide, featuring the initiatives of our Austrian companies. Of course, many of them will be familiar to many of you. Our companies abroad have also initiated a number of activities, enabling us to achieve our major objectives, and we have done this here against the backdrop of the pandemic. If you would like to know more about our corporate social responsibilities, then I would urge you to our sustainability report, of course, under the model, protecting what matters. And in addition to our consolidated report, we have the consolidated nonfinancial report, and all of this is summarized theirs. As I said, protecting what matters at the -- this goes hand-in-hand with a particular attitude, and this can be achieved in this way, of course, to look at the long-term contemplates of our activities, we need to think in terms of generations. And this, of course, forms the core of the insurance business. I also ensures that we wish to be a reliable partner moving into the future. We need also to protect what matters. Ladies and gentlemen, taking a long-term view means also taking the long view. Profitable growth is a necessary by the approach to prosperity, but it's not enough. We need other steps to take. We need to look at the functioning society and a healthy lifestyle. All of this protects us as well. This will be more important tomorrow than ever. Here, as always, I have a brief excerpt of our VIG group awards. So we have won awards for our Austrian Group company as well as many of our companies are broad. As you can see, on this slide. Standard in core has also issued new information. This was on 17th of May 2021 in a press release on the rating of the Vienna Insurance Group, the group's rating of A+ with the stable outlook was once again confirmed. And reasoning was provided for this, we also have a very strong business risk profile. This is justified based on the very diverse product portfolio as well as solid premium diversification. And a market-leading position in Austria as well as in CEE. Beyond that, we have a multi-brand strategy, multichannel sales as well as the geographical and product pacific diversification. All of these are essential pillars. Contributing to our rating in a market comparison, S&P has emphasized the VIG's continuously positive operating performance. The financial risk profile is very strong. S&P has certified that we have -- we are comfortably capitalized at the AAA requirement level. The stable outlook is also based on our marketing position in Austria and CEE as well as the expectations that earnings, of course, taking into account organic and external growth and dividend distributions, will continue to support very good capitalization. All right. Let's now talk about continuity and stability. Dear shareholders, this is something that has been reflected in the development of our strategy so together with the CEOs of our group company, the management of the holding has set up the strategy for the time from 2021 to 2025, and this strategy was launched. The basis on [indiscernible] target and hand-in-hand with that, we have and launched new initiatives. First of all, we analyze the most important trends and the effect on the insurance business. What we are seeing is an environment that will most likely be marked by disruptions and the potential of these disruptions will continue to unfold their potential. And we are responding with an evolutionary strategy. And we are combining what has been time proven and what we have seen in order to ensure the continuous development of the group, the low interest environment and the continuous pressure from regulators as well as continuing relevance of environmental topics for many years now, have characterized the market environment of insurers. And in particular, our strategy within our group. Well, sales, not least due to the experience we have made in the pandemic will continue to be become more hybrid, a mixture of personal contacts and hybrid. Most likely, personal contacts will go down, which is why the significance of transparence will go up. A new customer let us say, experience will increase in significance. I would like to add that despite the stronger digitalization, the human factor, the expertise of our employees will come a lot in the future as well. However, new opportunities due to new formats will come up and additional growth potentials, of course, will be tapped into. Now the business model of the Vienna Insurance Group has also been characterized by the pandemic, but it has proven its worth. We want to maintain and consolidate our position, but not only that, we want to extend it sustainable values for the sake of our customers. And of course, also our clients will need to be strengthened. Trust and security are essential and cultural aspects will be essential for the relevance of insurance service providers. This is why when we determine the group targets, apart from financial ratios, we have put a strong focus on social commitment. And this is highly important to us. Especially in the CEE countries, we want to anchor these values. We have set up 3 goals. On the left-hand side, you see the expansion of the leading position in the CEE region, taking into account country-specific portfolio. At least, we want to achieve a top 3 market position in each and every CEE market. Also, creation of sustainable value, as you can see here, of course, we want to earn our own cable costs. In order to create sustainable value, we have set up parameters. By the end of 2025, a premium volume in the amount of EUR 12.3 billion will be generated. On the basis of 2020, with EUR 10.4 billion. This corresponds to an annual premium increase of roughly EUR 380 million. The combined ratio is to be clearly beyond 95%. The solvency ratio on the basis of the new strategy has a bandwidth between 150% and 200%. The spend width reflects really the transition measures. An operating ROI and operating return on equity, it will be determined. And from 2021, this should be communicated externally. On the right-hand side of this slide, you see the achievement of ESG targets, society, customers and employees. In addition, within the scope of the strategy program, 2025, we are going to launch several measures in the area of ESG, that rest upon the promise of the company, protecting what matters. For example, we want to expand our green portfolio or office operations in all group companies by 2030 to be made climate neutral. By 2025, in 3 quarters of the CEE countries, an awareness raising program regarding the use of insurance product should be launched. An annual budget of at least the average premium of the country of residents of each employee should go into training and further education programs. It is our clear mandate that we keep our customers secure, and we want to create values. We help our customers to protect themselves for the future and also to set up assets. It is our clear target to raise the understanding for risk. And also providing for the future. And this understanding should be heightened. And by doing that, we will find the foundation and establish the foundation for a sustainable customer relationship. Locally, diversified demands in the individual countries are reflected here. And to meet these needs even better. We have set up the core market in CEE. This comprises 20 countries, including Austria. You can see this here on the map on the left-hand side, these are the countries marked in red. And then we have set up 10 special markets set up in pink. In those markets, we are pursuing specific targets. Within those 20 CEE targets portfolio groups in accordance with the relevant market potentials have set up, individual targets were established. Within this new strategy program, in addition, the country's responsibility, which is to see the country CEO now more responsible for achieving their own targets. On the right-hand side, you see how we have broken up the region into North, Central, South and special markets. Now the North region is led by Mr. Rina. The central region by Mr. Luga, the regions at by Mr. Hofinger. And in order to be more effective in this implementation apart from the CEO functions and CFO and CEO, of course. Also, we have created a Chief Technical Officer, CTO, which is going to be the responsibility of Mr. Lana, Mr. Thirring will be the Chief Operations Officer and the Chief Innovation Officer will be Mr. Lee Han. And we have set up those functions at managing our Board level. Ladies and gentlemen, well, I have already presented our plan as it were for 2021. And I can tell you that with results we achieved in the first quarter, we're going to come back to pre COVID levels. If you have a look at the number, I'm sure you will understand how resilient our growth has been in a year-on-year comparison. So in Q1 2020, we started with a strong plus in the premium volume before the pandemic kicked in, in March. This year, in the first quarter, 2021, that is. And even right in the middle of the pandemic, we have seen a solid premium development. The combined ratio is also at pre COVID levels and highly positive when it comes to the result after taxes and also before taxes, we have seen a clear plus. With EUR 128 million, the result before taxes year-on-year was increased by 5%. This means that we are well under way as regards our planned KPIs. [ EUR 350 million ] is roughly our target. The net result was even stepped up in this period. Previously, let me talk you through the individual regions, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, our 3 major markets have posted excellent results. Now with positive outlook for 2021, I would like to conclude my presentation. Thank you very much for your attention.

Thank you very much, Ms. Stadler for this very comprehensive and very clear and precise report. Now on behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank the holding, all 50 companies, and in particular, the employees who have proven that in this difficult year '21, within the scope of our abilities, we have achieved a lot. Now ladies and gentlemen, now let us move on to item #3 of the agenda. I'm happy to that the remuneration report 2020, which has been prepared for the first time for the 2020 financial year contains a comprehensive overview on the remuneration granted or owed to the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board in the course of the last financial year as part of the group's remuneration policy, including other benefits. The details for the 2020 financial year can be found in the remuneration report, which was published on the company's website within the legally prescribed period and will continue to be available for the legally prescribed period. With regard to items 12 and 13 of the agenda, I am happy to inform you that the increase in the number of supervisory board members will not comply with the [indiscernible] 52A of the Austrian corporate governance code, which states that the number of members of the Supervisory Board shall not exceed. I would now like to explain the reasoning for the decision to deviate from the comply or explain rule 52A of the Austrian corporate governance code. The increase in the maximum number of members of the Supervisory Board permitted by the Articles of Association to 12 members is intended to allow additional expertise to be brought on board in view of the international nature and further growth of the VIG group. Additional regulatory requirements are also a factor. Decision also be presented in the corporate governance report for the 2021 financial year. With regard to item 14 of the agenda, I'm pleased to inform you that the candidate submitted at the collaborations pursuant to Section 87, Para 2 of the Stock Corporation Act, which together with the curricular vitae of the candidates were made available in due time on the company's website and are available at this annual general meeting. In selecting the candidates, particular account was taken of the revisions of second 87, paragraph 2 of the Stock Corporation Act. In addition to the provisions of the Stock Corporation Act and the rules of the Austrian Corporate governance code, the provisions of the insurance provision act relating to a Supervisory Board of an insurance company were also upheld have been incorporated into the present election proposal. Mr. Sanaa declared her independence in accordance with the independence criteria, established by the Supervisory Board to the CEE role of the Austrian Corporate Governance code. Mr. Robert Las Fofa has declared, in accordance with the rule of the Austrian Corporate Governance code that is not considered independent within the meaning of the independence criteria defined by the Supervisory Board, as he has been a member of the Managing Board of [indiscernible] AG, Vienna Insurance Group. For the last 5 years, the candidates for the Supervisory Board, Ms. Susana Aifa and Mr. Robert Lashae will briefly introduce themselves personally by video. I refer in particular to their professional experience. First of all, we are going to listen to the video by Susana IFAD.

Hello. My name is Susana fat, and it is a great pleasure that I am given the opportunity to present myself. After studying economics in Budapest, I took on my career for -- I worked for [indiscernible], internal revision and audit. A changeover to the corporate world meant that I worked at that time for the second largest telecom provider, where I was responsible for Sarbanes-Oxley. I was then hired by a leading telecom provider in Austria. And responsible for all financial accounting reporting issues up to treasury and taxes. I've been responsible for 8 to 11 countries. In 2011, I started working for the German telecom group. And since then, I've been responsible for internal audit, compliance, and the like. In these previous 10 years, I've been responsible for many different areas. I've always reported directly to the Supervisory Board. And in this responsibility, I have become used to assuming reporting duties. I have been compliance officers for many years. I've been responsible for the internal control systems. Since 2018, I've been ahead of internal revision but also, I'm responsible for internal audit in the Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Austrian unit in the German telecom. Career has always been characterized by a certain regional width, and I've always appreciated diverse teams. On a daily basis, I'm used to speaking English as well as German. In my present position, I have been partly working in Austria and partly in Hungary. Responsible for T-Mobile, Asia and Magyar Telekom. I love leadership development. And also, I have received further training in coaching and leadership programs. In corona pandemic, that means that I have been working remotely from Budapest. I married, I have 2 children. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for this presentation. I would now like to join me in listening to Mr. Velas Rova's presentation.

Good morning to you, ladies and gentlemen. I would have liked to present myself to you in-person. But of course, due to the pandemic. This is not possible. My name is Robert Lao. Right now I am the General Manager and Chairman of [indiscernible]. I was born in 1957. And throughout my career, I have been working in the financial industry. I studied economics. I started working for an Austrian Bank. And quite soon, I became in touch with the insurance business. And from the very start, I found this to be highly interesting because insurance products really play a very important role throughout our lives. Now within the Vienna Insurance Group in 1989, I became a member of the Managing Board in [indiscernible], AG. In '99, I became a member of the managing Board of [indiscernible]. And as I've explained previously, I'm now deputy of the General manager. Right now the General Manager and Chairman of the Managing Board of [indiscernible]. We are responsible for a premium volume of more than EUR 3 billion. And within the group, I have supervisory or I have been responsible for supervisory tasks. In many countries, I am also responsible for [indiscernible] management and [indiscernible]. Starting with January 1, 2021, I became President of [indiscernible]. I would like to accompany VIG in its successful future.

Now thank you very much for this presentation to both candidates. Now in disconnection, I would like to state that both candidates, Ms. Effort and Mr. Lars, it's declared that if elected, they will accept the position as a member of the Supervisory Board. Now this concludes the presentation of the reports and the proposed resolution on all agenda items. I'm now going to give you the attendance. According to the list of participants, 418 shareholders are represented by the 4 special proxies, entitled to cast a total of 104,838,374 votes. Let me repeat that 104,838,374 votes. Now the AGM, therefore, has a quorum on all items of the agenda. I would now like to ask the notary Republic rather inform the notary Republic that I hereby signed the list of participants. Thank you very much. I would like to open it for inspection and requests that our notary Republic attached to the minutes. Now ladies and gentlemen, now I would like to ask our special proxies, whether there are any motions for resolution from shareholders. If yes, could you please read them out and/or confirm that they have not received any. Let me start with Dr. Knap.

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for giving me the floor. I represent 150 shareholders, representing roughly 4 million. And out of those, so far, no motions have been received. Thank you very much. Dr. Nauer?

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. So I have not received any motions either.

Dr. Nauer, thank you very much for giving me the floor. I can also confirm that out of the shareholders, I represent, I have not received any motions. Dr. Wolf?

Mr. Chairman, I have not received any motions either.

Thank you very much. Now ladies and gentlemen, before we move on to the Q&A session. I would briefly like to interrupt the minute for a 15-minute break. I would suggest that we come back at 12:45. This will give you the opportunity to submit further questions to us. Thank you very much. I'll see you soon at 12:45. Thank you very much. [Break]

Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to Q&A period. And we will answer all the questions that have been received both in advance and during the AGM. We ask for your understanding that in the event of lengthy or repetitive questions, or if the meeting has advanced to an advanced stage, please be advised that the request to speak will not be read out or only be read out in part. I would also like to reiterate the e-mail address to which questions, including follow-up where supplemental questions can be sent. The e-mail address is [email protected]. The shareholders' questions will be read out by the independent attorney-at-law, Dr. [indiscernible], she will ensure the proper reading of the questions. So if you are in agreement, sir, I would suggest that we begin with Dr. Knap's questions. Please, Dr. [indiscernible], the questions for Mr. Knap.

I would like begin with #1. Today, we are resolved to pay out a dividend of EUR 0.75 for fiscal 2019, we had results in distribution of EUR 1.15 on September 25, 2020. The delta to the 2019 dividend is, therefore, minus EUR 0.40. In other words, 35%, whereas EPS only declined by 30%. The payout ratio fell also by 2.9 percentage points to 44.4% to 41.5%. VIG extended points was the [indiscernible] on the 18th of March 2021. And this was the comment on the profit distribution proposals. So my question is what are the reasons for the -- for partially reduced dividend proposal compared to 2018? Ultimately, the recommendations of the supervisory authorities, FMA and EIOPA, or more or less the imminent acquisition of the Aegon companies in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Turkey, which will cost EUR 830 million. Thank you very much.

Ms. Stadler will respond to your question.

The dividend proposal, as I have already indicated in my presentation, the dividend proposal is EUR 0.75, and this is in line with our very prudent and sustainable capital planning, strategy and our stable dividend policy. We've always pointed out that dividend per share will follow the company's performance. We had an exceptionally good year 2019. And for that reason, we paid out a dividend of EUR 1.15. We have presented your concern to give our shareholders an appropriate share in our successes to the FMA, and we have been able to dispel any concerns. Unfortunately, an end to the pandemic is not yet in sight, despite the ongoing vaccine rollout and the regulatory recommendations remain in place. So for that reason, we have extensive considerations on 1 hand and our efforts to balance the interest of all of our stakeholders is reflected in our dividend proposal. As I also indicated in my presentation, in 2021, we expect profit or tax to be in the range of about EUR 450 million to EUR 500 million, particularly with all the COVID-19 related uncertainties regarding the future development of our company. So I hope that next year, we will be able to present you with a larger dividend proposal for 2021. Thank you very much. Question two, planned acquisitions. On Aegon Central and Eastern European business, the ad hoc report from the -- November 29, 2020, we announced the acquisition of Central and Eastern European business of the Aegon companies in Hungary, Poland and Romania and Turkey to be acquired for EUR 830 million and bring us a premium volume of EUR 600 million. The basis, of course, is for 2019, a net result of EUR 50 million. And this will help us rise to the #1 in Hungary as well as to enter the life insurance segment in Turkey. One of the decisive factors as we -- for VIG as a buyer was that we could "guarantee" that we do not have competitive issues in any of the countries according to the CEO [indiscernible] from the first quarter 2021. The closing was expected for the second half of 2021. However, in an ad-hoc announcement dated April 7, 2021, you had to admit that Hungary is preventing the acquisition of the Aegon companies, at least for the time being. The decision from the Hungarian Minister of the Interior has prohibited the planned acquisition of the Aegon Companies by our company. The Dutch government, among others, has protested against this decision because Hungary is once again trying to give preference to national companies in order to create Hungarian so-called champions, according to the [indiscernible] item on the 21st of April 2021. Since then, the matter has gone silent.

What is the current state of affairs? What do you want? What can you say about this? Who are your advisers on this deal? Which law firms? [indiscernible] according to the gov [indiscernible] issued 24th in the first quarter of 2020, which other advisers, total consulting expenditures so far. How does the -- does the deal even make a sense with Aegon's Hungary business? Is there any sight of solution? [ Horizon Hungary ] is even trying the reversal of the contract. Thank you very much, Ms. Stadler.

As already mentioned in the context of my presentation, the Aegon transaction is such that we are still in talks. And for that reason, I ask for your understanding that we cannot really say about it more than we already have. Due to the size of the transaction, I believe that we are obtaining advice and expertise from external specialists. The transaction has not yet been completed and the consultancy fees have not yet been finally settled.

Thank you very much, Dr. [indiscernible]. Question #3, Romanian segment. A few years ago, the Romanian government launched a price market-wide competition law case concerning price fixing in the motor vehicle insurance in which our local subsidiaries, Omniasig and Asirom, are also involved. They are filing the decision through the courts. A provision of EUR 15 million has already been recognized in 2018. What is the current status of the legal proceedings? When do you expect the decision? Have you changed, increased, partially reversed the provision in the amount of EUR 18 million for the 2020 financial year?

Thank you very much. The provision has remained unchanged at EUR 15.8 million since 2018. The court proceedings have not yet been concluded. And as of today, we cannot estimate when a decision will be reached.

Thank you very much. The next question from Dr. Knap.

Question #4. The region of Northern Europe. Our branches in Sweden, Norway and Denmark are included in the reporting as part of the central function segment. 2020 contributions of these branches to the premiums, in 2019, they were around EUR 500 million. And the results 2019, it was contribution for EUR 3 million.

So the question will be answered by Mr. Hofinger.

Thank you very much for the question. In the Nordics, we had subscribed a volume of about 6.2 million, of which 2.59 million was booked as a written premium for 2020. Moreover, we have a claim ratio of -- which is very positive, because we have initial cost and investment costs as well. For that reason, we have a negative contribution of EUR 1.78 million. We have premiums of EUR 132 million and growth of about 43%, combined ratio of 95.2%.

Question #5. Donau Versicherung AG and Wiener subsidiary, Donau Versicherung has recovered from the property, casualty, disaster suffered in Italy a few years ago, but has shown, however, fluctuating underwriting results in the Life segment over the last 5 years 2020, a minus of EUR 17.2 million [indiscernible] from the 16th of April 2021. 2019, a minus of EUR 7 million [indiscernible] from the 6th of May 2020. 2018, a minus of EUR 10 million according to [indiscernible] in April 2019. 2017, minus EUR 6.4 million [indiscernible] for 2018. And 2016, a plus of 6.8 million [indiscernible] from the 3rd of May 2018. So what are the causes of these fluctuating underwriting results in the Life segment? Is it due to the market environment? Or is it due to special effects?

Thank you very much. Ms. Stadler, please.

Well, so and so, the fluctuating underwriting results in Life segments are mainly due to 2 effects. Firstly, the allocation of an additional interest provision for life insurance required on the FMA regulation. The total balance at the end of 2020 in Donau was EUR 45.1 million. Secondly, in the switch from a reinsurance contract to an internal hedging model for the capital guarantee and the premium subsidized [indiscernible].

Now we come to question 6. So [indiscernible] our share is 54.7% of financial damage cost, but in solvency of the [indiscernible] is said to be over at EUR 70 million instead of EUR 30 million according to the [indiscernible], the newspaper, from the 27th of February 2021. Even if it's not fully reflected in our consolidated financial statements due to the lack of full consolidation, the question can be asked whether or not the reported higher amount of damage is correct. Have we exerted our influence to stop such loss-making practices? Has the investment have the investment guidance been changed or tightened? Have there been any staff consequences. And if applicable, what else is there to report?

Ms. Stadler, please.

Yes, of course. So we have extensive control systems have correspondingly been implemented at the -- for nonprofit housing societies, the group's internal audit departments also as to review the situation. And the investment guidance of the nonprofit housing companies were subsequently revised in a meaningful manner via participations account for approximately EUR 30 million in short-term investments at [indiscernible]. The -- underpinning the amount, among other things, are the fact that project and management flows that come to a standstill due to COVID-19 in the course of investment process, information on [indiscernible] was obtained on a regular basis, including the corresponding queries regarding the [indiscernible] v1870. This were made the failure of a bank audited by an auditor and supervised by the Austrian Center Bank must be classified as an unforeseeable event. Further clarification and analysis of the background must be left to other bodies and other authorities. Supporting affordable housing remains an important concern for VIG. And Dr. Knap, I can assure you that, as I said, affordable housing remains a very important issue for the group into the future.

So number -- question #7, please. IFRS 17, Insurance Contract, so sometime ago. The IFRS for insurance contracts was postponed to January 1, 2023, but there are uncertainties regarding the adoption into EU law, current status regarding adoption into EU law. Can the implementation costs be better estimated today than 8 months ago? And they are in a 2-digit million euro amount. This is a standard response on the last AGM.

Mr. Hirner, please -- Ms. Hirner, please.

We are currently observing progressive development, so with regard to finding solution to these remaining issues. This is from 2019, we are -- these are the annual cohorts. This is a very important unanswered issue. This is an important issue on E level. For that reason, we believe that this will be resolved in the process of this year, and that they will be adopted into EU law as of January 1, 2023. This is, of course, based on our view from today. This means that we're in the final stages of preparation for the comparative period, and we continue to assume a high 2-digit million amount. And more specifically, this is about EUR 100 million. So more specifically, I can say that we have already cover or EU subsidy cost of 45% of the cost so far. And we have a licensing cost of EUR 7 million. So the rest of the cost are currently in the pipeline.

Thank you very much. These are the questions from Dr. Knap. They have been presented and answered. I think Dr. Hart. I think Dr. Knap would like to issue a clarification. Here, the clarification of Dr. Knap.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate VIG on its 30-year anniversary with 30 countries, particularly when we look at its history, thanks to a branch office that never gave up in Budapest, and this was its first step. It was the first insurance company at the time to become a pioneer. And CEO at the very beginning, of course, very cautiously, and now much more courageously. Now we are active in those 30 countries. And premium volume has been multiplied by about 10 since then. For that reason, I would like to congratulate you on this outstanding development. Thank you very much for the amazing last 30 years. I mean, we wish you all the best for the next 30 years.

So thank you very much. I, of course, will take that on board and pass that on to all of the employees of the group. Ladies and gentlemen, now we come to the catalog of questions submitted by Mr. [indiscernible]. [ Dr. Out ], please.

So question #1, what does VIG spend on social media and online advertising, please?

Gentleman, it can be said that the VIG Holding does not pursue any significant positioning strategy in this way for online advertising. Production costs for social media content and advertising banners via Group Communications and Marketing and Investor Relations departments totaled in 2020 together, were about EUR 23,000, including VAT. While those of human resources department amounted to about EUR 40,000.

Thank you very much. The next question, please.

How much did it cost to produce the annual reports? Did external designers and consultants assist? If so, what did they cost?

Ms. Stadler, please.

In total, the expenses for the VIG Group reported 2020 came to around EUR 198,000, including that. Compared to the previous year, expenses for the implementation of the newly required ESEF reporting were added for the first time. The annual report was implemented in cooperation with the creative entity [indiscernible] and prepared for digital use and enriched with the additional content in cooperation with our long-standing partner, [ Nexar ]. Total agency costs amounted to around EUR 80,000.

So thank you very much. Next question.

Question #3, how many people are logged in at the Annual General Meeting 2021? How many were logged in, in the previous year? How many are in the back office today? And how many of them are external consultants, like lawyers?

Ms. Stadler, please.

A total, there are about 700 viewers in 2022. These were the ones tuning to our [indiscernible]. Of course, the access figures fluctuated over the time. We had about 280 accesses to live streaming candidate peak times to 2021. We had 26 at the beginning of this AGM. And in the back office, we have about 50 persons providing support in carrying out the AGM, and 10 external capacities.

Let's move on to the next question by Mr. Berger. Question #4, what does VIG spend on cybersecurity and security software and whether any hacks in 2020? Dr. Thirring?

Investments in IT security, including cybersecurity, are being made on an ongoing basis, particularly in lieu of increasing digitalization. Every new project takes into account high IT security standards. All in all, we spent EUR 15 million in security measures in 2020. EUR 6 million in Austria, and there was no critical incidents that had to be reported.

Next question. Question #5. What does VIG spend on IT software in total? What were the expenses in 2019 and 2020? And what is spent on IT and IT hardware, both for 2019 and 2020?

You need to make a distinction between ongoing costs and IT investment costs. IT investment costs were EUR 124.5 million in 2020. In 2019, EUR 138.6 million. Ongoing software costs were EUR 237 million in 2020. In 2019, EUR 201 million. Hardware, EUR 17.5 million in 2020. In 2019, EUR 11.4 million. And running hardware cost, EUR 71 million in 2020, and EUR 64 million in 2019.

Thank you very much. Home office, as we call it in German, working from home. So how many VIG employees work from home on average in 2020? How many are currently working from home? What did VIG spend in this regard in terms of, equipment, tablets, laptop, office furniture? And will this scheme be maintained also post-COVID?

Thank you very much. Well, by quickly switching our employees by moving them to their homes, to have them work at home, we were able to successfully continue our activities even during the pandemic. At the holdings, even prior to COVID, we had the opportunity for our employees to work from home. And due to the pandemic, of course, this option has been increasingly used at the holding in 2020, an average of 70% to 80% of all employees work from home in 2021. This figure, due to the stricter lockdown measures in Vienna, is even higher. And also for the fully consolidated insurance company, the share amounted to roughly 70% as already mentioned in my presentation. Regarding the equipment, well, employees, if they have not received any notebooks before, they now receive them, notebooks that are suitable for mobile working and to improve the working conditions in their home in Austria. We offer an additional so-called home office package. This includes wireless mouse, keyboard support for laptop, headset with phone support and, if desired, a large external monitor. There is also an option to get an ergonomic chair, an office chair or an equipment voucher. Regarding the future of this working scheme, I can inform you, [ Mr. Biaga ], that this scheme has been appreciated by our employees. And the existing arrangements were, therefore, evaluated on an even more flexible model that covers both the requirements of the company and the needs of employees is being developed. Roughly 40% of the fully consolidated insurance companies offered such schemes prior to COVID, and around 3/4 of the fully consolidated companies plan to maintain and/or expand this work-from-home scheme.

Question #7. How much should VIG spend on the SAP rating in 2019 and 2020?

The cost for Standard & Poor's rating in 2019 were EUR 95,000. In 2020, roughly EUR 98,000.

Question #8, the shares and the value that VIG holds in wind turbines and projects, how many electronic cars do you have? How many did you acquire in 2020? How many hybrid cars does VIG have? And how many will it have acquired? What funding has been received from the government and the EU for a sustainable project, both for 2019 and 2020?

Ms. Stadler?

Well, let me start by talking about wind power project. In the VIG Group, as of the end of the year 2020, there is outstanding debt financing of EUR 40 million in wind farms. There were no participations in the form of equity financing in wind projects, neither directly, nor indirectly. Regarding the vehicle fleet, we currently have 11 e-cars in the group. Of these, 5 vehicles were acquired in 2020, and 2 were acquired in 2021. The Austrian VIG companies currently have 25 hybrid vehicles. Out of these, 8 vehicles were acquired in 2020, and 6 vehicles in 2021. On the subject of subsidies from the Austrian government and the EU, I can confirm that the Austrian VIG companies submitted investment applications at the turn of the year. This relate, on the one hand, to digitalization projects, part of which is our new infrastructure for working at home and electric company cars. We will not receive the majority of the subsidies until 2022 to 2024. Thank you very much.

How big were the losses from nat cats in 2020 and 2019? Hail and thunderstorm shares, in million, please? And what is the nat cat loss here in Eastern Europe, in million, please?

Mr. Hofinger is going to answer this question.

Thank you very much, Mr. [ Berger ], for this question. When it comes to natural disasters, NatCats, we make a distinction between so-called NatCat events. So in 2020, we can say there were significantly for [ Europe invest ] than in 2019. In the previous year, we had the Storm Sabine accounting for a NatCat loss of around EUR 60 million, more than 2/3 of which in the CEE region. In 2019, we were heavily burdened with snow pressure damage, Storm Eberhard and hale, had net losses of around EUR 50 million and 57 -- excuse me, 7% of which occurred in the CEE region. All in all, weather-related losses in 2020 amounted to roughly EUR 180 million net, slightly higher than in 2019 when we recorded roughly EUR 182 million net in weather-related losses.

Let's move on to question number 10. How many life insurance policies were terminated prematurely in 2020? And what was the premium volume? How many life insurance policies were terminated prematurely as a result of death? And how high was the volume of claims for VIG? What role do COVID death play? And how much did VIG spend on rehabilitation of the injured and sick in 2020 and 2019? How many people have been supported with rehabilitation programs?

A total of 584,853 policies were terminated prematurely, corresponding to a premium volume of EUR 422 million. There were 54,428 death benefits, representing a volume of EUR 287.8 million. Of these, 1,359 were deaths, accounting to payouts of EUR 4.7 million, corresponding to approximately 2%. Regarding this year of rehabilitation, here, Germany and Austria can answer that. We can say that approximately EUR 4.1 million in benefits for rehabilitation as far as days were spent in 2020 alone, which supported more than 11,000 customers. In the Eastern European countries, however, that plays an even smaller role. We can say not even any role because this is something that is going to change in the future because in CEE, [ CTE ] projects with a focus on spa rehab do not play a role to do the very different health care systems.

Next question. Does Mr. [indiscernible] have a consulting contract with the VIG Group because he still has a consulting contract with the Paymark Group? And if not anymore, when did he withdraw?

There is and was no consultancy agreement between Mr. [ Faimand ] and VIG Holding or its subsidiaries.

Thank you very much. Question number 12. How high is the amount of damages for [ subscriber ] when investing money with [indiscernible]? How much of it has already been value-adjusted?

Ms. Stadler, please?

The investment of [ subscriber ] are affected in the amount of roughly EUR 30 million, and the company's concerned have made the corresponding adjustments in our books.

Question number 13. Do you have offices, investments in tax havens such as Delaware, Luxembourg and others? Could you give the figures for 2019 and 2020?

Thank you very much. Now we do not have any offices there. The focus of our investments is primarily, of course, on those regions in which we are also represented with our local insurance business that is deliberate search for tax loopholes in offshore countries or exploiting special tax advantages and so-called tax havens is not on our agenda. We can definitely exclude any investments in Delaware. Of course, we have, let us say, investment funds domiciled in Luxembourg in our portfolio. But not at all for tax reasons, but rather exclusively for reasons of assessment. Also, I should like to say that from a tax point of view, with the Austrian tax representation required for us, these are completely equal in their treatment to Austrian investment funds.

Thank you very much for answering this. This completes the list of questions by Mr. [ Berger ]. He wants a statement to be read out. Next time, could you please reduce the power of attorney form to 3 pages, so you don't have to print out and take a picture of 5 pages? Thank you very much to the back office for answering our questions. I thank the Board and the staff for their work during these challenging times. And I will wish you good success and most important, please stay healthily.

Thank you very much to you, Mr. [ Berger ]. All the best to you, for your future. Mr. [ Baumuller's ], question.

Let me start out with the prologue, preliminary remark. In view of the scope of the following questions, I would like to ask you to present them individually and to answer them directly thereafter in a focused and clear manner. This seems to me in the interest of both the speakers and the other participants in the meeting and also to be conducive to addressing the various topics in detail. Furthermore, after answering all of the following questions, I would like to ask you to allow sufficient time for me and other shareholders, of course, to ask follow-up questions. Thank you very much. Now on to the prologue. Dr. Geyer, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to begin by expressing my pleasure at being able to participate virtually in the Vienna Insurance Group Annual General Meeting for the second time this year. The list of questions, which I would like to keep deliberately brief, is intended to make a small contribution to this meeting and in doing so, focused on a topic that is of great concern to me as it is to many other people, perhaps even the greatest concern of our time: sustainability. Please see this following remark at the same time as a sign of my sincere appreciation as well as my hope and trust in this that it is precisely companies like VIG that can play a decisive role in the current transformation process of our society. I would like to expressly encourage you to do so. As I was able to leave the last Annual General Meeting well informed then with an extremely positive image of the company in these matters that are central importance to me, I would like to thank you again, first of all, Ms. Higatzberger-Schwarz and Ms. Hirner, with whom I've since been able to engage in an extremely enriching dialogue. And at least, as pleased, however, that since the last AGM, not only numerous words have been exchanged, but the company has also taken action. The considerable list of substantially valuable initiatives, which the current sustainability report lists at the beginning under the heading highlights 2020 speaks for itself. In the light of the EU initiative on sustainable finance, I, myself, consider the access that has been set in the field of so-called [ kettle ] investment,to be particularly valuable. The increasing development of the topic of climate change is, in my view, equally important and forward-looking. Personally, I would like -- I also enjoyed and like the further development of the content in the area of nonfinancial risk reporting at the structure of the nonfinancial report. I've already been able to provide suggestions for further steps elsewhere, and you can also take some of them from my following questions. About [ probably ] the ongoing EU regulation will probably mean that the development dynamics in the area of sustainable corporate governance of sustainability reporting will remain high. Among other things, you will apparently have to implement the completely new reporting format in 2 years' time and report in a more integrated manner on economic, ecological and social performance dimensions. But what I would particularly like to urge you to do is to increasingly dovetail your corporate and sustainability strategies, a requirement, not only from the investor side and something that would suit my acquired understanding of the nature of VIG well. Besides, there is much to be said for this purely under-conceptual content level. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again, probably on behalf of the feelings of many VIG shareholders to the employees of the companies across all levels of the corporate hierarchy for the great commitment in this time, which have been and continue to be accompanied by challenges in all the areas of life really. The success that can be reported today during this event would not have been possible without this commitment. Furthermore, I would like to thank the people involved in the organization of today's AGM for answering my and all other questions and concern. Above all, I wish you all the best of luck, good health and confidence in this time of change, hopefully, for the better. And now to the questions. These are questions on nonfinancial reporting and other matters. Question one. Much of what you write in the nonfinancial report about VIG's objectives and self-image makes me think of the idea of a good corporate citizen or citizenship. The following question relate to this. Would you confirm this assessment that I have seen? Or can you better specify your ambitions in another term? Which 3 concrete results of the 2020 financial year, of course, the most important ones from your point of view, can you use to determine whether or to what extent you have succeeded in taking a further step in this direction? And thirdly, what targets are you pursuing in these 3 earnings areas that you mentioned for the current fiscal year 2021 and, of course, beyond that separately?

Thank you. Question -- the answer, thank you very much. Of course, we like to use the term good corporate citizen. Actually, we don't use that ourselves, but I can agree with you that, of course, so we want to pursue our activities on the basis of responsible business development. Of course, it's very important for us to integrate the sustainability issues into our core business. So in 2020, there are a number of highlights. So we're very proud of these. As I've already presented, we have investments in green bonds, EUR 154 million. And this has increased to EUR 238 million. The increased sustainable investments, of course, is something that we plan to achieve for 2021 and beyond. In 2020, we had -- [ core ] risk in larger customer segment was reduced by 60% compared to the previous year and also for the next year. We're looking at a continuing reduction in this area in Austria. [indiscernible] in 2020, we had the first index-linked life insurance that we've put in the market, which has the Austrian environmental CO. We're also planning to introduce similar products like this in the future. Allow me to touch on another highlight, of course, for the VIG, once again, has a class of [ ideas ] amongst the 750 best employers in the world. So this is the only Austrian financial service provider on that list. Thank you very much.

So this brings me to question 2. So I would like to ask you to briefly describe in detail where you stand in your implementation projects for the EU tax [Audio Gap]

Or that have made us the leading insurance provider in the CEE region. Well, a recommendation really for stock investments can for us not been given, but we are happy about everybody really buying our own stock. This means that not just we but our investors are convinced. So I would say, on a personal note, buy our stock. So ladies and gentlemen, we are now going to have a break. I suggest that, let us say, any motions or any questions should be received by 3:15. We are going to answer them after this time. Motions received can unfortunately no longer be considered. Thank you very much. See you in 15 minutes. [Break]

Ladies and gentlemen, we will continue with the addressing of our questions from our highly esteemed shareholders. Once we have finished answering these questions, we will close the question-and-answer period, as we've already indicated, and there will be no more questions or motions permitted. I would like to ask Dr. [indiscernible] to please read out an additional comment from Mr. Peter [indiscernible]

The statement is, thank you very much for the extensive answers to my questions. It seems that the remuneration of the VIG is rather modest. Other executives and other Supervisory Board, so we see 50%. Now thank you very much, Mr. Geyer, for your modesty. Thank you very much for these figures especially. But however, if you compare, this doesn't look good. Maybe in the next several years, we'll see a difference. Perhaps the share prices at VIG will regain the original price at which I purchased this share. So we'd like to thank all of the employees of VIG for the excellent work. We wish the VIG all the best for any successful future.

Thank you very much, Mr. Peter [indiscernible]. We also wish you all the best for the future. And now we will turn to questions from Mr. [indiscernible].

What is the book value per share? And how far did it fall when you subtract the hybrid bond? The book value is at EUR 33.36. This is exclusive of the new assessment reserves, and there has been no reduction in the book value due to the -- because we have no hybrid bond. Thank you very much. Next question, how high is the percentage of U.S. investors and British investors? How was -- how high was this share 2019, 2020?

From May 2020, this was our last assessment, we saw that 20 -- 35% of the identified free float came from North America, this is United States and Canada; and around 13% was distributed across the U.K. and Ireland. The values for 2019 were about 34% for North America and 12% for U.K. and Ireland.

Thank you very much. Now let us move on to the next question. Mr. [ Stala ] has submitted question 3e, but please read this out.

Question is, would it be acceptable for Mr. [indiscernible] personally to uphold a 2-year cooling-off period before being elected to the Supervisory Board?

As we have already indicated, it is in the interest of his expertise that we rely on, Mr. [indiscernible]. We know that he's helped expand our groups. And of course, so we have upheld all of the statutory provisions. And for that reason, there are no statutory or any other recommendations as we've already mentioned. So the election of Mr. [indiscernible] to the Supervisory Board of the VIG, of course, has already received disapproval from the financial market authorities in Austria.

Thank you very much. So now let us turn to the questions submitted by Mr. [ Spark ].

So let us begin with the first question here. Let's begin with the first question. What were the last 3 sales, partial sales or hiving off of the VIG AG?

Yes. Thank you very much. Ms. Stadler?

Yes, one moment. So my answer is that there were no spin-offs for the VIG Holding in the last several years. Within the group, we naturally undergo restructuring on a regular basis, also in coordination with the MFA. And of course, we try to simplify our corporate structure. So in 2019, we had a partial interest in VIG, and this was sold to the Vienna [indiscernible] in 2017. The [indiscernible] were merged, and we streamlined the interest, the participation structure of [indiscernible]. There are also sales -- no sales of interest held by VIG in active investments. We have buying and selling, of course, but this is not necessarily the focus of the VIG Holding. As group holding, this is not our business model. It's not in the focus of our business model. Thank you very much.

What acquisition was probably the best one that you carried out in the last 5 years?

Well, I think, generally, we're very happy with the acquisitions we've undertaken in the last 5 years. But if there was 1 thing that we had to point out a bit to you, this is very difficult when you think everything is quite wonderful, but I have to say the acquisitions in the Baltic states. And if you look at the segment reporting, I think you can see that the development there have been -- developments there have been really excellent in those countries.

Thank you very much. Next question.

So now please give us the staff costs for the last 3 financial years for VIG. And how high was the result per employee, staff costs for VIG?

According to the Austrian code, 2018 was EUR 28.8 million; 2019, EUR 31.8 million; 2020, EUR 35.3 million. The result per employee in 2018 was EUR 0.88 million per employee; in 2019, EUR 0.81 million per employee; and 2020, EUR 0.22 million per employee. The number of employees in VIG Holding has developed in proportion to regulatory provisions or group projects. And of course, the profit before taxes for VIG depends on the interest in 2020. We had external factors with high volatility. And the decline in valuation and these are the same factors that, of course, that led to the goodwill impairment in the consolidated financial statements we indicated already in the presentation.

Thank you very much. Next question, please.

How important today are start-ups and other media like [indiscernible] or social networks or the [indiscernible], for example [indiscernible]? How important are these for the population, for the company as well as interest helping these companies?

Well, we have participations in start-ups, and we ask for them platforms for an opportunity to rapidly develop the digital solutions and to [indiscernible] digital innovations. Of course, this is -- the media have also focused on the development of start-ups, and they report on this on a regular basis. So for example, we have a number of activities that have been reported as well such as [indiscernible] Cuba, just to name a few examples, so that means these are very important media outlets that we support with information. Based on the reporting, these media also help promote young entrepreneurship as well as their personal development and increased interest in the population for innovative ideas. And they do this in a very positive way.

Thank you very much. Next question.

What about the red tape expenses in Austria? And what country in the European Union or in CEE is a pioneer in this area?

Thank you very much for this question. Of course, we could probably spend the entire afternoon philosophizing about this question. So the expenses arising from red tape for supervisory and regulatory activities in the insurance industry has been subject to a constant increase in EU member states. About 90% of new regulatory provisions for insurance companies are -- have originated in the European level, of course. And this has to do with the increase -- the strong increase in the European legislatures activity as well as the activities of EIOPA in Frankfurt. IFRS 9 and 7, of course, are particular regulatory initiatives, so that has entailed considerable spending and expenditure for our insurance companies. Of course, we've also heard a great deal about IFRS 9 and 17. We have the ongoing review of Solvency II. This is something we've been focused on for the last several decades. This is something that we do very intensively. And of course, other activities that have to do with ESG criteria. This has affected a number of corporate areas, regulatory, product development, et cetera, just to name a few. The transposition of EU legislation, international regulations, of course, is quite similar.

So next question.

Are the insurance companies of Berkshire Hathaway also in a peer group with VIG or how does one manage to achieve a much higher margin and return for his shareholders?

So Berkshire Hathaway is a public-traded U.S. holding company, and it has about 80 companies from various sectors and industries. And it also has insurance companies and reinsurance companies included. For that reason, you cannot really compare because these insurance companies and reinsurance companies are specialized. And this holding also focuses on other types of industries. So it's not really a peer group that we can't really establish any kind of peer group connection between Berkshire Hathaway and VIG.

So what interest or minority interest do you hold -- does VIG hold in software or ICT companies? And what purpose do they fulfill?

Mr. Thirring, please.

The VIG has an interest in a number of software and IT companies. These are largely internal limited liability companies, GmbH, for example, that provide services to our own insurance companies. In Austria, these are twinformatics GmbH, [ Kimley-Horn Informatics and Consulting ], Central Point Insurance and [ VTech ]. These are limited liability companies that provide services to our own insurance companies. Abroad, we also have other such companies that perform a similar role in the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ukraine and Romania.

Thank you very much. And now let's move to the next question.

What about revenue in association with the products and insurance for cybersecurity protection from hacker attacks? Thank you very much. Mr. Hofinger?

Yes. For cybersecurity, we have the 3 areas. So we offer cyber solutions in retail household [ and casualty ] insurance. And also, we have cyber policies for other areas that are focused on motor assistance. For example, if you have a cyberattack, there is an emergency number you can call. You will reach an IT company that will help you. We also have PR companies that also help you to deal with the situation as well as attorneys in our customer segment. We also have coverage for cyber threats. These are the main areas, but we have a great of discussion here, but we do not have a number of policies included here. We're talking about a double-digit million euro figure in terms of premium volume in these 3 activities.

The next question, please.

How satisfied are you with the listing on the Vienna Stock Exchange and the development of the Austrian capital market since the beginning of Dr. Baden as the Head of the Vienna Stock Exchange.

Of course, we feel very closely connected to Vienna as a financial center and our second listing on the Prague Stock Exchange. In 2019, we celebrated a 25-year anniversary on the Vienna Stock Exchange. And of course, we focus on CEE, and we have generated a great deal of attention at the Vienna Stock Exchange and the listed companies are very multifaceted. And of course, we try to participate in those. For example, stock exchange information days or the Austrian equity days that were held in the last several years. And we, as VIG, have tried to be present there and meet investor interest here, not just here in Europe, but also in the America and other continents.

Thank you very much. So now to the last question from Mr. [ Schtaler ].

What megatrend is going to be shown in the new products or services of VIG? And what is really your stronger sales channel?

Thank you very much for this question. I would like to refer you to the presentation given by our CEO. She talked about VIG's 25 strategy. We have shown that a lot of trends have been discussed regarding the individual markets with all of the CEOs of our group. One essential factor is certainly access from the customers. We need to realize that the question is going to be central also in the digital environment, which is to say hybrid sales are -- is going to become ever more important. We are taking preparations to monitor the development of digital platforms, for example, and to shape that as a future trend. And in additional so-called ecosystems will be monitored where, let us say, a couple of products, in addition to traditional insurance business products, will be mapped. And the sales channel, the most important sales channel is, of course, still one-on-one. So a personal contact, and that is, of course, something we are going to monitor.

Now I would like to move on to the questions asked by Mr. [ Beringer ]. Question number one, why can -- Mr. Lasshofer declared that there is no personal or business relationship to Vienna Insurance Group or the Managing Board which poses a material conflict of interest if he as the CEO of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein AG Vienna Insurance Group, which is to say, he has close relations to the relationship. How can a candidate be a qualified candidate if he held this position up to the end of 2020. In the meantime, Mr. Geyer has declared that Mr. Lasshofer should not be regarded as independent. Is there any way we can elect him as a Supervisory Board member?

I'm happy to answer this question. Now the result of Mr. Lasshofer's work and his know-how is an excellent addition to our Supervisory Board within the scope of VIG. As concerns to cooldown period, there is, let us say, no legal requirements that have to be met. I've already mentioned that the appointment of Mr. Lasshofer, if he is elected, has already been discussed with the Financial Market Authority in Austria. The declaration filed by Mr. Lasshofer should be understood in a manner that he sees a clear separation of the functions he has as the CEO of the Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein. And there is no conflict of interest as the bylaws of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein. It is his responsibility to support the other businesses of VIG in the form of a cultural or social commitment that is. Any further questions? Now increasing the number of Supervisory Board members is explained with the need to get additional expertise for VIG. One additional expert is to be introduced by the election of Ms. Eifert. She said that she's responsible or has experienced with compliance, internal audit and risk management. I would rather have expected that new Supervisory Board candidate would introduce, let us say, new business ideas such as investing in noninsurance business or launching start-ups that have promising ideas for the future.

Now the CV of Ms. Eifert clearly shows her experience. And in particular, the issues you addressed such as compliance, risk management, auditing, et cetera. So due to the regulations of the Austrian Insurance Supervision Act and also the regulations imposed by AOPA will be ever more important. So we think that is -- it is essential that we have a person of her standing and with her education. Next question.

Insurance business was not sustainable, let us say, all parties. Are there going to be any future limitations for business, not acting in compliance with ESG criteria?

Well, in accordance with our climate change strategy since May 2019, we have not offered any insurance policies. For example, for coal mining or coal power plant. In countries that do not have an exit strategy so far, only on specific conditions, can we prolong these contracts provided that the client can present a credible exit strategy, and this has been laid down in the climate change strategy that we have disclosed.

Next question regarding electronic cars. Apparently, they have a higher risk in case of a collision to be totally damaged. Will that have an effect on the premium?

Well, motor, insurance covers several risks, but also, of course, pricing takes into account the probability of occurrence. [indiscernible], for example, has devised new scoring model on electronic cars specifically taken into account, however, should the share of e-cars go up, then we are going to have to come up with new tariff models.

Thank you very much. Next question.

Lawsuits. How many lawyers or legal experts? Do you internally have? Has this number been reduced lately? And what is the share of lawsuits that are being handled? Do you use digital systems, for example, for that purpose as well? How many, let us say -- or what is the sum total in terms of litigation?

Thank you very much. Now at the holding, how should I put it? There are many, let us say employees with the legal training, for example, in my department, I have 4 legal experts. And no, we have not recently reduced this number. When it comes to lawsuits, pending lawsuits in that case, if necessary, we consult law firms. There is one role we clearly follow. We do not outsize work, but it's always the legal claims agent in a chart consulting with an external expert. But in the driver seat is always an employee of ours. Right now, there are 3 such lawsuits pending. One has to do with an -- fire insurance in the amount of EUR 13.7 million. Another one regards construction insurance in the amount of EUR 3.4 million and another lawsuit is pending in the amount of EUR 66 million.

Thank you very much. Next question.

How about pension funds? Why does that business -- is that business of interest in connection with Aegon? Is VIG the only owner of this pension fund? What is the capital shares that VIG holds in percent, please? What is the amount of the expected profit from the pension fund business?

Ms. Stadler, please?

Mr. [ Beringer ], you know that I have been a long time a proponent really of retirement insurance. And that is really an expansion in our value creation chains when it comes to setting up assets. In strategic terms, this is essential because old age structures are changing. The same goes also for the CEE region. They are lagging behind a bit, but still they will see that trend as well. This is a highly interesting business field. And the Aegon transaction will allow us to speed up the expansion of this business. Right now, there is one pension fund, Doverie in Bulgaria and VBV in Austria. And due to the expansion, this is a topic that is going to become more relevant. Also in Poland, for example. This is of great interest. Every market, every country, if you will, has individual rules and regulations, which is especially in asset management. This is foundation -- an essential foundation when it comes to retirement insurance, and there will be great synergies. The closing has not yet been carried out. So therefore, I cannot give you any details regarding these companies.

Next question.

Was there a site letter by the auditor? If so, what notes were made? Were there any reviews or audits made by the financial market authority or the OePR?

I do believe that you are referring to the management letter, right? Now, no such letter by the auditor. In 2020, there was one review of the consolidated statements. 2013 and also the half yearly results were audited by the OePR without any statements. And of course, the financial market authority carries out regular reviews and any statements, of course, are made time and again. But they are carefully reviewed and implemented this year, for -- this month, excuse me, of course, one audit procedure. But time and again, audit procedures are terminated and suspended as it happened this month.

Sponsoring -- the next question, what kind of sponsoring do you have? And how much do you spend on that?

Well, the sponsoring expenses of VIG Holding in 2020 amounted to EUR 70,000. Out of this amount, roughly 69% go to culture, 15% to social topics and roughly 17% to other projects. Let me give you 2 examples, please bear with me that EUR 70,000 is not the end of the world. If you will, we support Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and here many musicians from Eastern Europe, for example, play, and we are trying to sponsor. Those performances also we -- support the Alfred Fried Photo Award. This was renamed Global Peace Photo Award. This is about a children's award for the best pictures regarding peace. And a lot of participants in the Balkans and in the CEE countries where we operate are represented.

Additional questions. Dr. [ Luge ] who's the top physician in the VIG Group and is going to have an even higher position in the future, but he was one of the leading top managers at UNIQA. What about conflict of interest?

You are, of course, correct in saying that it is really essential that you need to have industry-specific expertise. So he was a manager of one of our competitors, and that speaks for itself. That speaks to his know-how, to his excellent know-how and expertise. The second fact is that, of course, he terminated his employment for our competitors some time ago, some time has passed. And on the basis of my long-standing experience in my work, he's really one of those who's really a leading expert. And the Supervisory Board does not see any potential conflict of interest.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, We're almost at the end of our Q&A session. There is one question that Mr. [ Stockhandl ] has asked. And in the meantime, we have not received any additional questions. So after answering Mr. [ Stockhandl ] question, we then going to come the end of the Q&A period. Mr. [ Stockhandl ] question, please.

Is there anybody at VIG who can name 3 different stock who have taken on the same development as VIG in the previous 30 years. And could you give me his or her name?

Well, Mr. [ Stockhandl ], it's really quite hard to compare this because there is no reader really any other comparable insurance stock around that has a comparable, let us say, business model as we have. We have a very high stock exposure in Eastern Europe. And even though really -- even if there were a comparable, let us say, player, this would not make any sense to compare this. Now thank you very much for all the questions that you have asked. I hope that we have been able to answer them specifically. I would now like to come to the end of the Q&A period. I would now like to ask our proxies to read out any further motions. Let me start with Mr. Knap.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for the floor. I have no further motions. But I have an introduction from Mr. [ Schtaler ]. Investments at GmbH, Mr. [ Schtaler ] asked me to object to items on the agenda 12, 13 and 14. I'm saying this now. And then later on, we will formally object to those items I mentioned at the start. Mr. Moser, please.

I have no further motions from the shareholders that I represent. Mr. Nauer.

I can also confirm that I have no further motions to report. Mr. Wolf?

I have no further motions, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much. I would like to close the Q&A period. And now this brings us to the voting on agenda items 2 to 14. Votes are counted using the subtraction method. In this procedure, the no votes and the abstentions are counted and subtracted from the total number of votes represented. This results in the current number of yes votes. So for voting purposes, the special proxies on proxyholders shall use the instruction cards or voting cards. The corresponding number of shares is recorded when the respective instruction cards or voting cards are entered into the IT system. The voting rights represented by the respective instruction cards and voting cards are thereby included in the calculation of the voting results. Abstentions are not counted either in the votes cast or in the capital represented. They, therefore, have no effect on the outcome of the resolution. The instruction cards or voting cards will be read out to Mr. Stefan, our Notary Public, so that they can be properly recorded. I will announce the voting results after each vote. Furthermore, the voting results will be published on the company's website in accordance with the statutory provisions no later than the second working day subsequent to this AGM. I would like to ask Mr. Stefan to read the motions on the agenda items and then I will conduct the voting procedure on the respective item. I would like now to give the floor to Mr. Stefan and to have him read out the item 2 on the agenda.

The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the AGM pass the following resolution as follows: The net profit of the year in the amount of EUR 239,230,814.01 as recognized in the annual financial statements for 2020 shall be appropriated as follows in accordance with the proposal made by the Managing Board and approved by the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board and by the entire Supervisory Board, distribution on ordinary shares EUR 0.75 dividend per share for 128 million ordinary shares or a total of EUR 96 million. The dividend payment date will be on the 27th of May 2021. The record date -- the ex-dividend date (sic) [ record date ] for the dividend shall be the 26th of May 2021, and the ex-dividend date for this dividend shall be the 25th of May 2021. For that reason, our total dividend will be paid out as EUR 96 million with the remainder carried forward to new account. Those are voting against, Knap instruction card, no further votes against. Any abstentions? [Voting]

Moser instruction card, Nauer instruction card, no further abstentions. [Voting]

We have a presence of 104,838,374 shares. 104,838,174 valid votes were cast, which represent 81.90% of the total share capital. For votes, 104,824,985 corresponding to 99.98742%; no votes, 13,189 corresponding to 0.01258%; abstentions, 200. I hereby declare that the motion concerning agenda item appropriation of the profit has been adopted with the required majority. I would like to ask Mr. Stefan to read out the following motion.

The Managing Board and Supervisory Board propose the Annual General Meeting pass the following resolution. The remuneration report of 2020 of Vienna Insurance Group AG shall be approved.

Thank you very much, Mr. Stefan. Those votes against Knap instruction card, Nauer instruction card. Any abstentions? Moser, Nauer, Wolf instruction cards. No further abstentions. [Voting]

The presence is 104,838,374 shares. 104,807,242 valid votes were cast, which represent 81.88% of total share capital. Yes votes, for votes correspond to 102,674,081 corresponding to 97.964%; no votes amount to 2,133,161 or 2.35318%; abstentions amounted to 31,132. Here, once again, I would hereby declare that the motion concerning agenda item 3, we -- sorry, yes, remuneration report 2020 has been adopted with the required majority. I would like to ask Mr. Stefan to read out the next item on the agenda.

The Managing Board and Supervisory Board proposed that the Annual General meeting pass the following resolution, discharge shall be granted to the members of the Managing Board for the financial year.

Thank you very much. Votes against Knap. No further votes against. Any abstentions? Knap, Moser, Nauer instruction cards. [Voting]

Thank you very much. With the presence of 104,838,374 shares, we have the valid votes cast coming to 104,720,291, corresponding to 81.81% of total share capital. For votes, 104,720,288, correspond to 99.999997%. No vote, 3, corresponding to 0.000003%; abstentions amount to 118,083 votes. I hereby declare that the motion concerning agenda item 4, the discharge of the members of the Managing Board has been adopted with the required majority. Now I would like to ask Mr. Stefan and the notary public to present item 5 on the agenda of the motion.

The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the annual general meeting pass the following resolution. Resolution: The discharge should be granted to members of the Supervisory Board for the financial year 2020.

Thank you very much. I would like to put this to a vote. Votes against, Knap? No further votes against. Any abstentions? Knap instruction card. Moser instruction card. Nauer instruction card. No further instruction abstentions. [Voting]

The presence remains unchanged for this item of the agenda at 104,838,374 shares. This corresponds to 104,719,291 valid votes which represent 81.81% of total share capital. Yes votes came to 104,228,901 or 99.531710%; no votes, 490,390 corresponding to 0.468290%; abstentions came to 119,083. Here, I declare that the motion concerning agenda item 5, discharging the members of the Supervisory Board has been adopted with the required majority. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank you for the confidence you placed in us. I would now like to ask Mr. Stefan to read out of the next motion.

The Managing Board and Supervisory Board proposed that the AGM has the following resolution, authorization of the Managing Board pursuant to Section 169 of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act was resolved at the 26th AGM on 12th May 2017 to increase company share capital by 11th of May 2022, at the latest, is revoked and replaced by the following new authorization. The Managing Board shall be authorized pursuant to Section 169 of the Austrian Stock Corporations Act to increase the company share capital also in several tranches by a nominal amount of up to EUR 66,443,734.10 by the 20th of May 2020 at the latest through an issue of up to 64 million no-par value registered or bearer shares against the contribution in cash or in kind or a combination thereof. The authorization regarding the content of the shareholders' right, exclusion of shareholders subscription rights and other terms and conditions, sentence 2 to sentence 4 of Article 4 (2) of the Articles of Association shall remain in force without changes. The first sentence of Article 4 (2) of the Articles of Association will be amended accordingly and be read as follows: Managing Board's authorized pursuant to Section 169 of the Stocks Corporations Act to increase by 20th of May 2026 at the latest the share capital of the company also in several tranches by nominal value of EUR 66,443,734.10 by issuing up to 64 million no-par value shares in registered or in bearer form against contribution in cash or in kind or combination thereof.

Thank you very much for the motion. I would like to put this to a vote. Those opposed to this motion, Knap instruction card, Nauer instruction card. No further votes against them. Any abstentions? Knap, Moser instruction cards, Nauer instruction cards, Wolf instruction card. No further abstentions. [Voting]

Thank you very much. Here's the results for item 6 on the agenda, the presence has remained the same at 104,834,374 for which 104,837,019 valid votes were cast, representing 81.90% of total share capital. Yes votes came to 93,737,286 corresponding to 89.412392%; no votes came to 11,099,733, corresponding to 10.587608%; abstentions came to 1,355 votes. So I would hereby declare that the motion put forward concerning agenda item 6, the authorized capital amendment of Articles Association in Article 4 Para 5 first sentence has been adopted with the required majority. Item 7 on the agenda.

The Managing Board of Supervisory Board proposed that the Annual General Meeting passed the following resolution as follows: Authorization of the Managing Board pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation Act, which was resolved at the 26th Annual General Meeting on the 12th May 2017 to issue participating bonds is revoked and replaced by the following new authorization. The Managing Board shall be authorized to issue participating bonds in a total nominal amount of up to EUR 2 billion by the 20th of May 2026 with an approval of Supervisory Board pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation Act in several tranches as well also with the exclusion of the shareholder subscription rights. The Managing Board is authorized to define the issue features and bond features as well as the securities terms of the participating bonds such as the interest rate, offering price, term and denomination with the approval of the Supervisory Board in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the Stock Corporation Act. The interest rate and the offering price of the participating bond shall be calculated on the basis of accepted methods of financial mathematics by means of an accepted pricing procedure.

Thank you very much, Mr. Stefan for the motion. I here I put the motion of vote. Votes against this motion, instruction card Knap, instruction card Wolf. No further votes against. Any abstentions? Instruction card Knap. Instruction card Moser. Instruction card Nauer. No further abstentions. So thank you very much. [Voting]

Here, you see the voting results for agenda item 7. Presence remains the same at 104,838,374 shares, representing 104,830,865 valid votes cast, representing 81.90% of total share capital. For votes 104,555,771, corresponding to 99.737583%; no votes came to 275,094, corresponding to 0.262417%; abstentions came to 7,509. So for the following vote, I declare that the motion concerning agenda item 7, profit participation bonds, has been adopted with the required majority. Agenda Item 8. Mr. Stefan, please.

The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the AGM pass the following resolution: The Managing Board's authorization pursuant to Section 174 (2) of the Stock Corporation was resolved at the 26th Annual General Meeting on the 12th of May 2017 to issue convertible bearer bonds by 11th of May 2022, once or several times is revoked and replaced by the following new authorization. The Managing Board hall be authorized to issue convertible bonds pursuant to Section 174 of the Stock Corporation Act once or several times in a total nominal amount of up to EUR 2 million by the 20th of May 2026, with approval from the Supervisory Board and to grant the owners of convertible bonds conversion or subscription rights of up to 30 million ordinary bearer shares in the company with a proportionate amount of the share capital of up to EUR 31,145,500.36, also with exclusion of shareholder subscription rights. Convertible bonds may also be issued limited to euro equivalent in the currency of any member country of their Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD. Federal Law Gazette No. 248 of 1961 as amended from time to time. Convertible bonds may also be issued through a company which is directly or indirectly wholly owned by the company. In that case, the Managing Board is authorized to issue, on behalf of the company, a guarantee for the convertible bonds with approval from the Supervisory Board and to grant the owners of convertible bonds conversion rights to ordinary shares in the company. The issue amount as well as the terms and conditions for the issue of convertible bonds, in particular, interest rate, term, denomination, dilution protection, conversion modalities, conversion price, conversion and/or subscription conditions, will be determined by the Managing Board with the approval of the Supervisory Board. Furthermore, the issue price of the conversion ratio shall be determined in a way safeguarding the interests of the company, the current shareholders and the subscribers of the convertible bonds by a market standard pricing procedure calculated on the basis of accepted market standard methods and the share price of the company shares.

Thank you very much for this motion. Who's against this? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Nauer and instruction card wolf. No other -- no votes. Any abstentions? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Moser, instruction card Nauer. No further abstentions. [Voting]

Now attendance has been unchanged. Attendance is as before. 104,837,174 valid votes were cast, representing 81.9% of the total share capital. Yes votes for this motion, 39,648,185 (sic) [ 93,648,185 ] corresponding to 89.32727%; No votes, 11,181,981 (sic) [ 11,188,989 ] corresponding to 10.672730%. Also in this regard, I would like to mention that this resolution has been adopted with the necessary majority. Let us now move on to agenda item 9. Mr. Stefan, please.

The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board proposed that the Annual General Meeting pass the following resolution. Resolution: the conditional increase of the share capital in accordance with Section 159 (2) 1 of the Stock Corporation Act as resolved by the 26th Annual General Meeting on the 12th of May 2017 is revoked and replaced with the following conditional increase of the share capital. The share capital has increased on a conditional basis in accordance with Section 159 (2) 1 of the Stock Corporation Act up to 31,145,500.36 by issuing up to 30 million ordinary bearer shares. The conditional increase of the share capital will only take place to the extent owners of convertible bonds issued on the basis of the resolution of the AGM of the 21st of May 2021, exercise their subscription rights or conversion rights. Para 4 -- third and fourth sentence are deleted on the first and second sentence of Article 4 (3) of the Articles Association shall be amended as follows: The share capital has been increased on a conditional basis and, of course, over section of 159 (2) 1 of the Austrian Stock Corporation Act by up to 31,145,500.36 by issuing of up to 30 million ordinary bearer shares. The conditional capital increase shall be carried out only to the extent that owners be convertible bonds issued on the basis of the resolution of the AGM of 21st of May 2021, exercise their subscription rights or conversion options. Who's against this? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Nauer, instruction card Wolf. No further no votes. Thank you very much. Any abstentions? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Moser, instruction card Nauer, instruction card Wolf. No further abstentions. [Voting]

Thank you very much. The results of the vote on agenda item 9 -- present attendance rather is still unchanged at 104,838,374 shares. 104,837,019 valid votes were cast which represent 81.90% of the total share capital. Yes votes, 39,998,235 (sic) [ 93,998,235 ] votes were cast, 89.66% is the corresponding percentage; no vote, 10,838,784 corresponding to 10.34%. This means that 1,355 shares abstained from voting. I'm happy to state that this motion has been adopted with the necessary majority. This was the vote on agenda item 9. Let us move on to agenda item 10.

The Managing Board and the Supervisory Board propose that the AGM pass the following resolution. Resolution: The authorization of the Managing Board pursuant to Section 65 (1) 4 and 8 and 1a and 1b of the Stock Corporation Act as resolved by the 28th Annual General Meeting on the 24th of May 2019 to repurchase treasury shares and resell these treasury shares will be revoked and replaced by the following new authorization. The Managing Board is authorized pursuant to Section 65 (1) 8 and 1a and 1b of the Stock Corporation Act, to acquire treasury ordinary bearer shares to the maximum extent permitted by law during the term of 30 months from the day of the resolution of the AGM. The equivalent to be paid upon redemption must not be lower than a maximum of 50% of the unweighted average closing price of the Vienna Stock Exchange of the 10 trading days preceding redemption and not higher than a maximum of 10% of the unweighted average closing price of the 10 trading days preceding redemption. At the Managing Board's option of the shares maybe -- at the Managing Board's option, the shares may be acquired via the stock exchange or a public offering or in any other experienced (sic) [ expedient ] manner that is permitted by the law. In the event of a redemption via public offer, the cutoff date for the end of the calculation period is today, of which the intention to make a public offer is announced Section 5 (2) and (3) Takeover Act. The Managing Board is further entitled for a period of 5 years from the resolution with exclusion of the shareholders' subscription rights, a, to use treasury shares in order to satisfy any obligation in connection with convertible bonds issued on the basis of the resolution of the AGM of 21 May 2021; and b, to sell treasury shares in any other way that is permitted by the law in any other way than by the stock exchange or public offering.

Thank you very much for this motion. Who is against this motion? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Wolf. No further no votes. Thank you very much. Any abstentions? Instruction card Knap; instruction card Moser, instruction card Nauer, instruction card Wolf. No further abstentions. [Voting]

Thank you very much. Now the result of the vote regarding agenda item 10 is as follows: Attendance is still unchanged. 104,830,854 valid votes were cast representing 81.90% of the total share capital. Yes votes, 104,813,550, corresponding to 99.98%; no votes, 17,304 votes corresponding to 0.016%; and 7,520 shares abstained from voting. I would like to state that this motion has been adopted with the necessary majority regarding the agenda item 10. Agenda item 11 of the agenda, Mr. Stefan, please.

Now the Supervisory Board proposes that the AGM may pass the following resolution. Resolution, KPMG Austria GMBH Wirtschaftsprüfungs and Steuerberatungsgesellschaft is appointed as auditor and group auditor for the financial year 2022.

Thank you very much to the notary. Who is against this motion? Instruction card Knap, and instruction card Nauer. And no further no votes. Thank you very much. Any abstentions? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Moser, instruction card Nauer. No further abstentions. Thank you very much. [Voting]

Attendance is still unchanged at 104,838,374 shares. 104,837,174 valid votes were cast, which represent 81.90% of the total share capital. Yes votes 104,713,736 (sic) [ 104,713,936 ] shares, corresponding to 99.88%; no votes, 120,238 (sic) [ 123,238 ] corresponding to 0.12%; abstentions, 1,200. That means that I can declare that the motion put forward concerning agenda item 11, election of the auditors and the consolidated -- of the consolidated financial statements and the annual financial statements for the fiscal year 2022 has been adopted with the required majority. On to agenda item 12. Mr. Stefan, please.

The Supervisory Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting pass the following resolution. Pursuant to Article 10 (2) of the Articles of Association in the present version, the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe consists of 10 members at the most. The maximum number of Supervisory Board members permitted by the Articles of Association shall be increased to 12. With around 50 insurance companies, Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe is active in 30 countries. The increase of the maximum number of Supervisory Board members permitted by the Articles of Association to 12 members shall enable VIG Group to utilize additional expertise considering the international presence and further growth of the VIG Group and also in connection with the increasing regulatory requirements. The additional seats shall be filled in line with the Supervisory Board's proposals for 2 additional members of the Supervisory Board as set out in item 14 on the agenda resolution. The maximum number of Supervisory Board members permitted pursuant to Article 10 (2) of the Articles of Association shall be increased from currently 10 to 12 members. These are the shareholder representatives. Article 10 (2) of the Articles of Association shall be amended as follows: The Supervisory Board shall consist of at least 3, at most 12 members elected by the AGM shareholder representatives.

Thank you very much, Mr. Stefan. Who's against this? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Wolf. No further no votes. Any abstentions? Instruction card Knap, instruction card Moser, instruction card Nauer, instruction card Wolf. No further abstentions. Thank you very much. [Voting]

So attendance is still unchanged. Same figure as before. 104,836,647 valid votes were cast, which represent 81.9% of the total share capital. Yes votes, 104,805,856, corresponding to 99.97%; no votes, 30,791 corresponding to 0.03%; and 1,727 abstentions.

Now following the vote, Mr. Chairman, can I take the floor? Dr. Knap. I would like to object and please take that to the minutes regarding the vote on agenda Item 12 on behalf of voting card #492, Mr. [ Schtaler ] that has been taken to the minute. I would like to declare that the motion submitted concerning agenda item 12 has been adopted with the necessary majority. This regarded the increase in the maximum number of members of the Supervisory Board as stipulated in the Articles of Association 2 (12) by amending Article 10 (2) of the articles has been adopted with the required majority.

Let us now move on to agenda 13.

The Supervisory Board proposes that the AGM passed the following resolution upon approval of resolution and registration of the amendments of the Article of Association proposed in item 12 on the agenda of this AGM and the company register, the maximum number of Supervisory Board members permitted by the Articles of Association will be increased from currently 10 to 12. Taking into account this amendment of Article of Association, the number of Supervisory Board member shall be increased in this Annual General Meeting from currently 10 to 12. In this regard, reference is made to the explanatory information in connection with item 12 on the agenda. Resolution: The number of the members of the Supervisory Board elected by the AGM will be increased from currently 10 to 12.

Thank you very much. I would like to put this to a vote. Votes against, Knap, Wolf instruction card. So no further vote against. Abstentions, Knap, Moser, Nauer, Wolf instruction cards. No further abstentions. [Voting]

Once again, presence is unchanged at 104,838,374 shares, for which 104,837,647 valid votes were cast, representing 81.90% of total share capital. Votes in favor, 104,805,856 corresponding to 99.969676%; votes against, 31,791 corresponding to 0.030324%; 727 abstentions. Mr. -- Dr. Knap, please.

Thank you very much for giving me the floor, Mr. Chair. Also on this item of the agenda, we would like to launch an objection and have that recorded in the minutes of [ Schtaler ] investments GmbH with the voting card 492.

Thank you very much. I would hereby state that following the vote to the motion concerning agenda item 3 (sic) [ item 13 ], enlargement of Supervisory Board has been adopted with the required majority. I would now like to come to Item 14 of the agenda. Please, Mr. Stefan.

The Supervisory Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting pass the following resolution: Currently, the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG fulfills the minimum number of requirement pursuant to Section 86 (7) of the Stock Corporation Act, consisting 10 members, of which there are 4 women and 6 men. In order to fulfill the commitment of Supervisory Board with 12 members, 2 members have to be elected to the Supervisory Board pursuant to Section 86 (7) of the Stock Corporation Act, the Supervisory Board has to consist of at least 4 women and at least 4 men. The minimum quota required by law will thus be satisfied irrespective of the election of the proposed members. Resolutions: Ms. Zsuzsanna Eifert is elected as a member of the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG with effect from the registration of the amendment of the Articles of Association in the company register pursuant to item 12 on the agenda of this Annual General Meeting until the end of the Annual General Meeting which passes the resolution on the discharge of the financial year 2023. Mr. Robert Lasshofer was elected as a member of the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG with effect from the registration of the amendment of the Articles of Association of the company register pursuant to item 12 of the agenda of the AGM until the end of the AGM which passes the resolution on the discharge of the financial year 2023.

Thank you very much. I will now put the persons individually in the alphabetic order to a vote. I request a vote on the motion of the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group to elect Ms. Zsuzsanna Eifert as a member of the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group with effect from the registration of the amendment of the Article of Association pursuant to item 12 of this AGM in the company register pursuant at the end of the AGM, which results on the discharge for the financial year 2023. So now I put this motion to a vote. Votes against, Knap, Wolf instruction cards. No further votes against. Any abstentions? Knap, Moser, Nauer, Wolf instruction cards. No further abstentions. I hereby declare that the presence has remained the same at 104,838,374 shares, for which 104,836,647 valid votes were cast, representing 81.90% of the total share capital. For votes, 104,805,856 votes or 99.970630%; votes against 30,791 corresponding to 0.029370%; so 1,727 abstentions were recorded. Mr. Knap, please.

Thank you very much for the floor. Mr. Knap. Thank you. I would like to launch an objection for the minutes on behalf of [ Schtaler ] Investments GMBH with the voting card number 492. Thank you very much.

Following the vote, I hereby declare that the motion concerning the election of Zsuzsanna Eifert to the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG has been adopted with the required majority. I would like to thank Ms. Eifert on her election. I now request a vote on the motion of Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group to elect Mr. Robert Lasshofer as a member of the Supervisory Board of Vienna Insurance Group AG with effect from the registration of the amendment of the Articles of Association pursuant to item 12 of this -- of the agenda of this AGM and the company register until the end of the Annual General Meeting, which results on the discharge for the financial year 2023. Votes against, instruction card Knap, instruction card Nauer, instruction card Wolf. No further votes against. Abstentions, Knap, Moser instruction cards. No further abstentions. [Voting]

Thank you very much. Here is the voting results. For this last item on the agenda for today. 14b, the presence remains at 104,838,374 shares for which 104,837,002 valid votes were cast representing 81.90% of total share capital. Votes in favor 103,551,946 or 98.774234%; votes against, 1,285,056 corresponding to 1.225766%; with 1,372 abstentions. Mr. Knap, please, you have the floor.

Thank you very much for the floor. Also on this resolution, we would like to motion an objection on behalf of the shareholder or show investments at GmbH with the voting card 492.

Thank you very much. Following the vote, I hereby declare that the motion concerning the election of Mr. Robert Lasshofer to the Supervisory Board has been adopted with the required majority. So ladies and gentlemen, this brings us to the end of today's Annual General Meeting. I would like to thank very warmly all of the shareholders and everybody following along on the Internet. My particular gratitude goes to the members of the Managing Board, all the employees of the group that have contributed to the success of this AGM, and also contribute to the success of the group in the last year. Thank you very much for your support from the back office at the AGM venue. I would also like to thank Dr. Ertl and Mr. Stefan and also the special proxy holders and the technicians who have ensured that everything has gone up very smoothly. I'd like to close the meeting. I bid you farewell and I wish you all the best and, above all, good health and an excellent summer. Thank you very much. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]