At a quiet Annual General Meeting, Allianz CEO Michael Diekmann kicked off by presenting the "3 plus 1" Program to shareholders, adding, "These growth initiatives and successes demonstrate that Allianz is devoting strenuous efforts to regaining a position among the most successful financial services providers."

According to Diekmann, Allianz wants to "lead in the premiere league of companies" by 2006.

Diekmann said he was confident that Allianz was in a position to bridge the gap between itself and its main competitors. Diekmann: "If your question is: Does Allianz have to evolve a new culture of performance in order to catch up with the top competitors, the answer is: Yes. If you then go on to ask: Is there enough ambition within your company not just to catch up with the competition but to be even better? My response to this question is also the answer: Yes. But in order to achieve that goal, the entire company will need to make a tremendous effort."

Diekmann added: "We want this company to undergo change. We should like your Allianz to exploit all the available opportunities using its massive potential to surpass itself."

According to Diekmann, customer orientation is vital to attaining the target yield of 15 percent. He explained, "Our aim with these changes is not simply to achieve an increase in earnings. We also want our units to direct their energies fully to the customer segments where genuine value added can be created. The reason is that only increases in income achieved by customer-oriented companies are sustainable increases."

Diekmann ending his speech by telling shareholders, "There are strong grounds for assuming that your Allianz will play a leading role in global competition."

DaimlerChrysler CEO Jürgen Schrempp will step down from the Supervisory Board of Allianz AG as of June 30. Henning Schulte-Noelle, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, told the AGM that Schrempp wanted to concentrate more on his duties as Chairman of the Management Board at DaimlerChrysler AG. "We are sad to say goodbye to Mr. Schrempp," said Schulte-Noelle.

Schrempp's successor on the Allianz Supervisory Board will be appointed according to the customary procedure.

Once again Allianz provided its shareholders with a comprehensive online service before and during the AGM, including invitation delivery via e-mail, live transmission of the meeting on the Internet, and online voting via representatives appointed by Allianz AG to vote on behalf of absentees.

Some 15 percent of votes were cast by those appointed by Allianz AG to vote on behalf of absentees, and almost two-thirds of the voting instructions (ten percent of all votes cast) were received via the Internet.

Almost 7000 shareholders received email invitations to this year's AGM, and a further 6000 shareholders signed up to receive documents by email in the future, saving both time and paper. In providing this service, Allianz is the frontrunner in Germany.

The shareholders followed the proposal of the Board and the Supervisory Board and once again agreed a dividend of one euro and 50 cents per Allianz share - despite the increase in the number of shares due to the increase in capital. The dividend amount has thus risen from 374 to 551 million euros.

99 percent of the participating shareholders also voted to release the members of the managing board and the supervisory board from responsibility for management.

The AGM also voted on capital approvement, permissible bond emission volumes and further amendments to the articles of incorporation.

The AGM passed all resolutions with a majority of over 96 percent of votes in favor, and rejected counter-motions by individual shareholders.

Voting participation in total represented 37 percent of Allianz's share capital. Just under 6000 shareholders were present at the AGM.


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