SNS Reaal (SR.AE) said Tuesday it was too early to say when it would start repaying the EUR750 million of state aid it has received.

Its priority is to improve solvency and liquidity while cutting costs and derisking its balance sheet, Chief Executive Ronald Latenstein told reporters.

If SNS Reaal pays one-third, or EUR250 million, of its total state aid before the end of the year it would avoid incurring a EUR125 million penalty.

Last week Dutch insurer Aegon NV (AEG) raised EUR1 billion worth of new capital to repay one third of its EUR3 billion in financial state support before the end of the year.

Latenstein also said that SNS Reaal has not yet decided when it will restart paying dividends.

SNS Reaal Tuesday reported an unexpected first-half net loss of EUR30 million compared with a net profit of EUR226 million a year earlier.

Company Web site: www.snsreaal.nl

-By Bart Koster; Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 571 5201; bart.koster@dowjones.com