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30 November 2018 By Aimee Donnellan Follow @aimeedonnellan

The German insurer promised more of the same with a set of modest goals for the next three years. Yet CEO Oliver Baete’s tweaked capital target suggests he is leaving room for a hefty deal. Rival AXA’s derided purchase of reinsurer XL, however, should serve as a cautionary tale.

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Allianz on Nov. 30 laid out updated targets for 2021 which were marginally higher than previous goals.

Oliver Baete, the German insurer’s CEO, promised to deliver earnings per share of more than 5 percent per year, compared to the 2016-18 goal of 5 percent. Allianz is also targeting a return on equity of more than 13 percent, compared to its previous goal of 13 percent.

Allianz reaffirmed its minimum solvency target – its capital relative to the amount required by regulators – at 180 percent but dropped the upper end of the range.

Rival insurer AXA released new financial goals on Nov. 28. The French group raised its expected adjusted return on equity to between 14 to 16 percent in 2019 and 2020, up from a previous target of 12 to 14 percent

It confirmed its target for underlying earnings per share to rise by 3 to 7 percent a year over the same period and expressed flexibility over possible future share buybacks

Shares in Allianz were down 1.32 percent at 187 euros by 0940GMT on Nov. 30. AXA shares were down 0.6 percent at 21.4 euros.

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