ActivityReport1998AXAGRAMSXAGRAMSareavisualalphabetdesignedtofamiliarizeeveryoneintheGroupwiththeAXAmanagementstyle.AXAGRAMSarepictograms.Likeroadsigns,theyexpressideasgraphically.Throughrepetition,theyrapidlybecomefamiliarandmeaningful.Theyalsoallowustogetaroundlinguisticbarriers,becomingauniversallanguagespecifictoAXA.Thisisamajoradvantageforaninternationalgroup.AContentsAwordfromtheChairmen...........2Update................................4Financialhighlights.....................6Organizationalstructures................10AXAanditsshareholders................13AXAanditspeople......................16Reviewofoperations................19Insurance..............................20Internationalbusinesses.................39Reinsurance............................40Assetmanagementandotherfinancialservices...................41Consolidatedstatementsofincome..47Consolidatedbalancesheets.........48Simplifiedorganizationalchart......50Addresses............................52StrategicGroupmissionStatementSharedvaluesorientationsAXAissquarelyfocusedononebusiness:insur-anceandrelatedfinancialservices,particularlyassetmanagement.Toattainitsgoalofsettingthestandardworldwideintheindustry,theGrouphasdefinedstrategicorientationsandpracticessevensharedvalues.Loyaltytoallourpartners.Teamspirit,whichfostershighperfor-mance,bothindividuallyandcollectively.Prideinourprofession,whichenablespeopletotakerisksanddrivestoday’seconomy.Theambitiontobeamongthosewho“getthingsdone”inthegeneralinterest.Theimaginationtoanticipatechangesintheworldaroundus.Thepragmatismtograspsituationsastheyareandreactpositivelyandeffectively.Commitmenttobeingattheserviceofthosewhomakethecompanyasuccess:customers,shareholders,employees.Tobeprofessionalinourbusiness.Tolistencarefullytocustomers,withoutwhomtherewouldbenobusiness.Togeneratetheprofitsneededtofunddevelop-ment,satisfyshareholders,andmotivateemployeesandbusinesspartners.Tomotivateandinvolveemployeesanddistributors.Theyarethekeytosuccessinabusinessbasedonservices.Toberesolutelyinternational,tobothreflectandrespondtotheincreasinglyinternation-alprofileofcustomers,businessesandcompeti-tors,aswellastospreadrisksamongdifferenteconomies.Tobepowerfulineveryoneofourmarkets,inordertohavethenecessaryclout.To“thinkglobal,actlocal”,whichmeans:GBeingdecentralized,soastoreconcilesizeandeffectiveaction.Everythingisdecentralizedbut(theprincipleof“everythingbut”):–planning,capitalstructure,andmanagementofacquisitions,–informationsystemspolicy,includingreporting,–executivecareermanagement,–humanresourcespolicy,–useoftheAXAtrademarkandthecorporateimage.GDevelopingsynergiesandinternationalmobility.CompanyProfileithassetsundermanagementvaluedatnearlyEUR559billion(US$655billion/FF3,600billion)andearningsofEUR1.53billion(US$1.7billion/FF10billion)AXAisoneoftheworld’sleadinginsurersandassetmanagers.AXAemploys114,500menandwomenaroundtheworldandhasestablishedastrongpresenceinmanyofthemorethan60countriesinwhichitoperates.TheAXAGroupiscommittedtosettingthestandardintheglobalinsuranceandassetmanagementindustries,andismakingthisgoaltangiblethroughthedevelopmentofasingleworldwidebrand.W2AwordfromtheChairmenInthefinancialservicesindustry,thecurrentraceforsizehasresultedinafrenzyofmergersandacquisitions.Weekafterweek,majortransactionsareannounced.Theincreasinglyglobaleconomy,thesheersi...
