Rising trend in coverage ratio comes to a halt in first quarter

Highlights:

• Current coverage ratio in second quarter rises to 103.0%
• Investment return in first quarter: -1.0% (-€ 3.9 billion)
• Liabilities rose slightly in the first quarter
• Policy coverage ratio rises to 103.0%

Heerlen/Amsterdam, 19 April 2018. In the first quarter of 2018, the coverage ratio at ABP, which had been rising for quite some time, showed a fall. The current coverage ratio fell during this quarter to 103.0% (-1.4). This quarter saw rising interest rates in the US and the threat of a trade war between the US and China. This led to falling market prices, which had an impact on our return. The policy coverage ratio did increase during this quarter, by 1.5 percentage points to 103.0%. ABP's available assets diminished by €4 billion this quarter to €405 billion, while liabilities rose to €393 billion.

Chairman Corien Wortmann-Kool: 'After five successive quarters with rising coverage ratios, a downturn occurred for the first time. Although the economy is growing in the Netherlands and beyond, we are also seeing unrest in the financial markets, while Dutch interest rates remain virtually unchanged. As a result, the ABP coverage ratio showed a slight fall in the first quarter of this year. Expectations for our participants remain unchanged. We do not expect to be able to index pensions much, if at all, in the coming five years. While there is little likelihood of having to lower pensions in the short term, this risk remains present for the medium term.'

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