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Transamerica Corporation

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Transamerica Corporation
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryInsurance
Investments
Retirement planning
Founded1928; 98 years ago (1928)
FounderA. P. Giannini
HeadquartersBaltimore, Maryland, US
Number of locations
10
Area served
North America
Key peopleWill Fuller (CEO)
ProductsLife insurance, Investment & Retirement services
Number of employees
6,800 (2023)
ParentAegon
Websitewww.transamerica.com

Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. The company is located in Baltimore, Maryland, with its subsidiary Transamerica Life Company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; It has back offices Denver, Colorado; Harrison, New York; Toronto, Ontario; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Knoxville, Tennessee. Additional affiliated offices are located throughout the United States. In 1999, it became an independent subsidiary of multinational company Aegon.[1]

Contributions from the Transamerica Life Insurance Company and its affiliates fund the Transamerica Institute, a nonprofit, private foundation. The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies is an operating division of Transamerica Institute.[2]

History

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The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco

In October 1904, A. P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco.[3][4] In October 1928, Giannini created a holding company that he named the Transamerica Corporation, which owned Bank of America, Bank of Italy, Bancitaly Corporation, National Bankitaly Company, California Joint Stock Land Bank, and Banca d'America e d'Italia [it], which gave it assets in excess of $1.5 billion (equivalent to $28 billion in 2025).[5][6][5][7][8][9] The Transamerica Corporation original headquarters was located at 4 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco.[10] The Bank of Italy later merged with Bank of America, Los Angeles in 1928, which was then renamed Bank of America in 1930.[3][11]

In March 1930, Transamerica acquired Occidental Life Insurance Company, founded in 1906.[12] At the time, Occidental had over $25 million in assets and over $150 million in life insurance policies in force.[12] Giannini said the purchase of the West Coast-based life insurance company was part of a plan for Transamerica to control every type of financial service.[12] Following the acquisition, Occidental was renamed Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company.[13]

Transamerica Airlines Boeing 747 Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point 1982

Over time, the company became a more diversified conglomerate that included Liberty Records, the film distributor United Artists,[14] Trans International Airlines (bought from Kirk Kerkorian,[15] later known as Transamerica Airlines)[16] and Budget Rent a Car.[17]

In 1972, the company completed construction of the Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper in San Francisco which served as its headquarters for many years. Although the company currently retains no offices in the building, the pyramid is still depicted in the company's updated logo (as of 2025) and marketing materials.[18][19][20]

In the 1980s, Transamerica began to divest and focused exclusively on financial services.[21] In 1981, Transamerica sold United Artists to Tracinda Corporation, a media company owned by Kirk Kerkorian which in turn also owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[22][a] Transamerica was eventually reduced to three main product divisions: insurance, investments, and retirement planning.[28] In July 1999, Transamerica CEO Frank C. Herringer announced that Aegon, the Netherlands-based insurer, would acquire the company.[29] Transamerica Occidental merged into Transamerica Life Insurance Company on October 1, 2008.[30]

In 2018, Transamerica entered a 10-year, $2 billion agreement with Tata Consultancy Services, an Indian technology company, to digitize their policies under a single platform. However, this project was abandoned in 2023.[31]

Products and services

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Transamerica primarily offers insurance, retirement, and investment services. Types of life and health insurance policies offered include term life, whole life, universal life, variable universal life, accidental death, and final expense. Transamerica companies also offer a variety of mutual funds and annuities.[32]

Transamerica's retirement division offers defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution retirement plans,[33] including 401(k) and 403(b), 457, profit sharing, money purchase, cash balance, Taft-Hartley, multiple employer plans, pooled employer plans, retirement plan exchanges, nonqualified deferred compensation, and rollover individual retirement accounts. Other services include plan-level record keeping and administrative services, participant communications and education services, fiduciary risk mitigation services, open investment architecture, and compliance guidance and regulatory support.[34]

In December 2020, Transamerica announced it would no longer sell variable annuities with benefit riders and fixed index annuities and is also exiting the standalone long-term care market.[35][36][37]

Partnerships

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Transamerica has a long history of supporting third-party research and thought leadership, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. Previous work includes American Heart Association, Stanford's Center on Longevity, Georgetown's AgingWell Hub, and Alzheimer's Association.

Transamerica has sponsored Zach Johnson his entire PGA TOUR career. The 2023 US Ryder Cup team captain and 12-time PGA TOUR winner, including the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open Championship, Johnson grew up in the Cedar Rapids community, home to many Transamerica employees. Transamerica is also a longtime sponsor of Azahara Munoz, 2009 LPGA Rookie of the Year.[38]

Foundations

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Transamerica funds two foundations: the Aegon Transamerica Foundation and the Transamerica Institute. It created the Aegon Transamerica Foundation in 1994 to provide financial grants to community nonprofits. Transamerica employees also volunteer services to these organizations.[39] The foundation received the Corporate Citizenship Award in 2013 for creating the first urban farm in Iowa.[40]

Transamerica Institute is a nonprofit, private foundation dedicated to identifying, researching, and educating the public about health and wellness, employment, financial literacy, longevity, and retirement. The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS), an operating division of Transamerica Institute, focuses on trends, issues, and opportunities related to saving and planning for retirement and achieving financial security in retirement.[41]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ On February 11, 2005, Kirk Kerkorian sold Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to a consortium led by Sony.[23] On May 19, 2009, following the completion of a $1 billion stock offering by MGM Mirage, Kirk Kerkorian and Tracinda Corporation lost their majority ownership of the gaming company, dropping from 53.8 percent to 39 percent and even after pledging to purchase 10 percent of the new stock offering they now remain minority owners.[24][25] On June 15, 2010, shareholders voted for MGM Mirage to change its name to "MGM Resorts International".[26] On September 16, 2019, Tracinda Corporation, a media company owned by the deceased Kirk Kerkorian, has sold its remaining shares of MGM Resorts International, a divestiture planned after Kirk Kerkorian's death on June 15, 2015.[27]

References

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  1. ↑ Tagliabue, John (February 19, 1999). "Big Dutch Insurer to Acquire Transamerica for $9.7 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  2. ↑ "About Transamerica Institute". Transamerica. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Newcomers". They Made America. June 9, 2004. PBS. WGBH-TV.
  4. ↑ "History". Transamerica. October 1, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Dover Charter Joins Giannini Corporations". Associated Press. The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware). October 12, 1928. p. 26.
  6. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Giant Giannini Corporation Being Formed". United Press International. The Times (San Mateo, California). October 12, 1928. p. 3.
  8. ↑ Scott, H. S. (October 14, 1928). "Stocks Do Little in Short Session: Bank of America, Marchant, Dairydale B Show Gains List as Whole is Firm". Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California). p. 54.
  9. ↑ "Gigantic Institution to Acquire Control of Giannini Enterprises: Transamerica Corporation Being Forms to Own Financial Firms". Associated Press. Los Angeles Evening Express. October 24, 1928. p. 27.
  10. ↑ "San Francisco Landmark #52: Fugazi Bank Building". noehill.com. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  11. ↑ "World's biggest bank (Fortune Classics, 1947)". Fortune. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 "Transamerica Buys Big Firm". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. March 25, 1930. p. 3.
  13. ↑ "Company Profile: Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company". California Department of Insurance. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  14. ↑ International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 25. St. James Press. January 1, 1999. pp. 326–330. ISBN 978-1558623675. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  15. ↑ Transamerica Signs For Airline Purchase Sacramento Bee, 12 March 1968
  16. ↑ "TIA, Name Change to Transamerica". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 84. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: 918. November 1979 – January 1980. hdl:2027/ien.35559002074692.
  17. ↑ "Budget Car Rental Corporate History". Budget Rent A Car.
  18. ↑ "Transamerica Pyramid". Shvo. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  19. ↑ Said, Carolyn (May 29, 2004). "ICONS OF BUSINESS / Transamerica Pyramid / From corporate emblem to city landmark / It's not really a pyramid, and it's not owned by Transamerica". SFGate.
  20. ↑ "Transamerica Launches Vibrant New Look for its Brand, Reinforcing a Pledge to Help Middle Income Americans". Transamerica. January 14, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  21. ↑ Zonana, Victor F. (January 31, 1986). "Transamerica Plans to Divest Units: Will Sell Air Travel, Auto Rental, Manufacturing Firms". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  22. ↑ Cole, Robert J. (May 16, 1981). "M-G-M is Reported Purchasing United Artists for $350 Million". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  23. ↑ "MGM Disclosure Statement". p. 6. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  24. ↑ Kerkorian Stake in MGM Mirage Shrinks (Wall Street Journal)
  25. ↑ MGM To Pay Back $825.6 Million In Debt Following Stock, Note Sales Archived May 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (CNN)
  26. ↑ Finnegan, Amanda (June 15, 2010). "MGM Mirage changes name, now MGM Resorts International". Las Vegas Sun. Las Vegas. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  27. ↑ International, MGM Resorts. "MGM Resorts International Announces Founder Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. Completes Sale Of Remaining Interests". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  28. ↑ Fabrikant, Geraldine (August 8, 1985). "Turner Acquiring MGM Movie Empire". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Aegon buys Transamerica". CNNMoney. February 18, 1999. Archived from the original on November 20, 2001. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  30. ↑ wpengine (October 20, 2008). "Hong Kong: Court Sanctions Transfer of Business of Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company". Insurance & Reinsurance. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  31. ↑ "India's TCS, Transamerica end $2 billion contract due to macro environment". Reuters. June 16, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Individual". Transamerica. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Aegon acquires Mercer's US defined contribution record-keeping business" (Press release). Aegon. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Retirement Solutions". Transamerica. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Transamerica Latest To Exit VAs With Benefits, FIAs". InsuranceNewsNet. December 16, 2020.
  36. ↑ Partners, LTCI. "Transamerica Exiting the Standalone LTC Market". www.ltcipartners.com.
  37. ↑ "Transamerica to halt sales of VAs with guarantees, fixed annuities". December 14, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Partnerships". Transamerica Partnerships. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Aegon Transamerica Foundation". Transamerica. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  40. ↑ Ford, George (November 21, 2013). "Transamerica wins award for Time Check 'urban farm'". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  41. ↑ "About Transamerica Institute". Transamerica. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
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