Ordinary General Meeting of Swiss National Insurance Company

18 mei 2009Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Swiss National Insurance Company held its Ordinary General Meeting today in Basel, which was chaired by Dr René Theler, Chairman of the Board of Directors. The shareholders approved the 2008 annual report and the annual financial statements. The General Meeting agreed to the Board of Directors' proposal to carry out a share split and to issue a stock dividend. Current members Dr Andreas von Planta, Dr Walter Grüebler and Peter E. Merian were re-elected to the Board of Directors for another four-year term and Dr Bruno H. Letsch was newly elected to the Board of Directors. The 257 shareholders present represented 381,206 registered shares. Including proxy shares, a total of 462,367 shares were represented. This corresponds to 44.03% of shareholder votes. Share split The General Meeting approved the split of registered shares at a ratio of 1:20 as proposed by the Board of Directors. The par value per share is now CHF 0.40 (previously CHF 8). Trading of the split shares is planned to begin on the SIX Swiss Exchange from 26 May 2009. By making the shares more tradable, the share split will enable increased liquidity on the exchange and improve the situation for small shareholders due to the stock dividend that was also approved. Ordinary capital increase for the distribution of a stock dividend After the split, the company's share capital will remain unchanged at CHF 8,400,000. This will be increased by CHF 420,000 (5%) to CHF 8,820,000 through an ordinary capital increase via the issue of 1,050,000 registered shares with a par value of CHF 0.40 a share. The General Meeting approved this proposal today in order to allow for the distribution of a stock dividend. The additional share capital will be created through a transfer of free reserves into share capital - that is, without an inflow of funds from shareholders. Issuing shares without charge in the form of a stock dividend aims to support Nationale Suisse's strong capital base. Thus the stock dividend will increase Nationale Suisse's risk capacity and room to manoeuvre in the current challenging economic environment. After close of trading on 25 May 2009 shareholders will be given one subscription right for each outstanding share (at a par value of CHF 0.40). 20 subscription rights entitle the shareholder to subscribe for one new share (with a par value of CHF 0.40) free of charge. This means that a shareholder who has previously held one share can subscribe for a new share without purchasing additional subscription rights. In principle, shareholders have the option of automatically subscribing for the new shares at a ratio of 20:1, selling the distributed subscription rights and realising the corresponding cash proceeds, or buying additional subscription rights to acquire new shares. The subscription rights are planned to be traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange from 26 May to 4 June 2009. The new shares from the stock dividend issue are scheduled to be delivered and booked into custody accounts on 10 June 2009. Change of the company name: Swiss National Insurance Company Ltd Because of statutory requirements, the legal form of the company must be included in the company name by the end of 2009 at the latest. Therefore, through a change to the Articles of Association, the name has been changed to "Swiss National Insurance Company Ltd". Board of Directors: continuity and new strength through the election of Dr Bruno H. Letsch Current members Dr Andreas von Planta, Dr Walter Grüebler and Peter E. Merian were re-elected to the Board of Directors for an additional term of four years. Dr. Bruno H. Letsch was elected as a new member of the Board of Directors. Until 2005, Dr Letsch spent many years at Swiss Re in a number of asset management roles. He is regarded as a proven expert in investment, and with his knowledge and experience he will be an effective addition and support to the National Suisse Board of Directors. Brief profile Nationale Suisse is an innovative, The headquarters of Swiss international Swiss insurer providing National Insurance Company Ltd first-rate risk and pension solutions is in Basel. Nationale Suisse and tailored niche products. The Group is listed on the SIX Swiss has gross premiums of CHF 1.67 Exchange (NATN). On 31 billion, about 30% of which come from December 2008 the Group their subsidiaries in Germany, employed 1,775 persons (FTEs). Belgium, Italy and Spain. Downloads Disclaimer You can access this media release on Swiss National Insurance our website www.nationalesuisse.ch Company wishes to point out under Medien/Medienmitteilung. that any forward-looking statements in this report are based on projections, estimates and assumptions. The influence of uncertain and unforeseeable circumstances and certain risks may mean that actual performance deviates significantly from our expectations. Information Sophia Schor Nationale Suisse Media relations Steinengraben 41 Tel. +41 61 275 23 86 4003 Basel Fax +41 61 275 22 21 www.nationalesuisse.ch sophia.schor@nationalesuisse.ch Important dates Annual General Meeting 18.05.2009 Publication of Semi-Annual Report 16.09.2009 Media conference to announce financial 16.09.2009 results at Hotel Park Hyatt, Zurich Financial analysts' conference at 16.09.2009 Hotel Park Hyatt, Zurich --- End of Message --- Nationale Suisse Steinengraben 41 Basel WKN: 1081197; ISIN: CH0010811971; Index: SMCI, SPI, SPIEX; Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange;