Transamerica History
Transamerica began as the vision of a young entrepreneur named A. P. Giannini, who took the first step towards realizing his dream by starting a small business known as the Bank of Italy (later to be known as Bank of America).
As part of his long-range vision of providing financial services to the general public, Giannini acquired Occidental Life Insurance Company through Transamerica Corporation in 1930. Occidental had first opened its doors to customers in 1906, and had established itself as a major force in the life insurance business on the West Coast.
With the addition of Occidental Life Insurance-and the estimated $25 million in assets that came with it-Giannini had created the foundation for what would become a strong and lasting company.
In 1956, Congress passed the Bank Holding Company Act, which prohibited a company from owning both banking and nonbanking entities. The company decided to divest itself of its bank holdings and keep its core life insurance businesses and related services under the Transamerica name.
The 1960s and 1970s were marked by a flurry of creativity and acquisition activity for Transamerica. In addition to building the Transamerica Pyramid, an architectural landmark in the heart of San Francisco's financial district, the company began diversifying, branching out into a number of businesses that focused on providing leisure services to consumers.
During this period of growth, Transamerica owned-in addition to its core life insurance and financial services businesses-the prominent motion picture distributor United Artists, Trans International Airlines, and Budget Rent A Car.
In the mid-1980s, Transamerica focused its resources on what has always been the core of the company-its insurance and financial services businesses. The company sold all unrelated operations and acquired several financial services companies that would strengthen this core.
In July of 1999, Transamerica began a new chapter in its history when it became part of one of the world's leading international organizations-AEGON N.V.
The Transamerica companies remain dedicated to the level of service they originated nearly 100 years ago-providing individuals, families, and businesses with life insurance and investment products designed to help build, protect, and preserve hard-earned assets.
Today, these products are distributed by the following entities: Transamerica Capital Inc.; Transamerica Insurance & Investment Group; Transamerica Investment Management, LLC; Transamerica Reinsurance; Transamerica Retirement Services; and Transamerica Worksite Marketing.
As Transamerica moves ahead, it will continue to build on its rich history of providing consumers with exceptional insurance and financial products at competitive prices.
EBM 404 0505