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36 Business overview Overview Americasretirement plans. SVS provides a synthetic GIC “wrapper” around fixed-incomeinvested assets, which are owned by the plan and managed by the plan or a thirdparty money manager hired by the plan. A synthetic GIC is typically issued with anevergreen maturity and can be terminated under certain conditions. Such a contracthelps to reduce fluctuations in the value of the wrapped assets for plan participants,and provides book value benefit-responsiveness.Sales and distributionTransamerica Retirement Solutions provides a comprehensive and customizedapproach to retirement plan management, catering to the mid- to large-sizeddefined contribution, defined benefit and non-qualified deferred compensationretirement plans market. Transamerica Retirement Solutions’ clients are generallyorganizations with 250 to 100,000 employees and between USD 15 million andUSD 2 billion in retirement assets.Transamerica Retirement Solutions serves more than 17,000 small- to mid-sizedcompanies across the United States. Transamerica Retirement Solutions offers anumber of specialized services, including innovative plan design, a wide array ofinvestment choices, extensive education programs and online investmenteducation.Transamerica Retirement Solutions also offers single premium group annuities inthe United States, which are used by companies to decrease the liability of theirdefined benefit plans. The market is growing in this segment as more employerslook to reduce the cost and complexity of their pension liabilities, often driven bywidespread economic and sector restructuring.Through Transamerica Employee Benefits, Transamerica offers voluntary payrolldeduction life and supplemental health to companies ranging in size from just fiveemployees to more than 100,000. Products and services are marketed toemployees at their place of work and are designed to supplement employees’existing benefit plans. As of January 2013, this division became part of Life &Protection.Transamerica Retirement Management, Inc. (rebranded January 2013 toTransamerica Retirement Solutions Corporation) works with individual planparticipants who are in transition. Whether participants have experienced a lay-off, ajob change or a planned retirement, Transamerica Retirement Solutions has aphone-based team of salaried retirement counselors who can help clearly explainthe choices available so the participant can confidently take the next step.Employees providing these services are registered representatives and investmentadviser representatives of TFA. In addition to serving those in transition,Transamerica Retirement Solutions also provides pre-retirees the guidance anddecision support needed to make a successful transition to and through retirement.Transamerica Retirement Solutions offers an array of advisory services, brokerageproducts, annuities and access to other insurance related products and resources.Each “plan for retirement” can be as simple or as detailed as necessary, dependingon the goals and needs of the individual.As of January 2013, the three business units Diversified, Transamerica RetirementServices and Transamerica Retirement Management have been combined t o formTransamerica Retirement Solutions Corporation.Overview business linesCanadaLife & ProtectionTransamerica Life Canada (TLC) is a leading provider of life insurance products toCanadian consumers. By working through a variety of distribution channels, TLChas acquired a national network of thousands of independent advisers. Theseadvisers provide middle market Canadians with the individual life insurance andprotection products they need to help them take responsibility for their financialfuture.Latin AmericaAegon’s business in Latin America comprises the 50% interest in Mongeral AegonS.A. Seguros e Previdência, a Brazilian independent life insurer and the 49%interest in Seguros Argos S.A. de C.V., a Mexican life insurance company.Mongeral’s insurance activities include pension product distribution, individual andgroup life insurance products, and administrative services. Seguros Argos ’s primaryproduct is a twenty -year term life insurance product. Both insurance companiesdistribute their products in the worksite market.Run-off businessesInstitutional spread based businessThis business was put into run-off during 2009. The primary products includedguaranteed investment contracts (GICs), funding agreements (FAs) and mediumterm notes (MTNs).Guaranteed investment contracts and funding agreementsGICs were generally issued to tax qualified plans, while FAs and MTNs weretypically issued to non-tax qualified institutional investors.GICs and FAs are spread-based products and were issued on a fixed-rate orfloating-rate basis. They provide the customer a guarantee of principal and aspecified rate of return. Some spread products were issued by pledging, selling withthe intent to repurchase, or lending investment securities that serve as collateral tothese products. Practically all of the liabilities represented by t he f ixed-rat e contractswere effectively converted to floating-rate via swap agreements and contractsissued in foreign currencies were converted at issuance to US dollars via swapagreements to eliminate currency risk. Credited interest on floating-rate contractspredominately resets on a monthly basis to various market indices. The term of thecontract can be fixed, generally from six months up to ten years, or it can