Allianz SE, Europe's biggest insurer, said it is looking at “all options'' for its Dresdner Bank unit ahead of anticipated banking consolidation in Germany. “We need to look at all options and not just focus on one,'' Chief Financial Officer Helmut Perlet said on a conference call today, when asked whether the insurer wants to merge Dresdner with Deutsche Postbank AG or Citigroup Inc.'s German retail business if either is sold. The Munich-based insurer has already said it aims to place Dresdner's private and commercial client units into a separate entity by the end of August. The move will help it play an “active role'' in German banking consolidation, Perlet said, reiterating previous comments by the company. Allianz reported a 65 percent decline in first-quarter earnings today after losses at Dresdner Bank, which it bought in 2001 for 23.5 billion euros ($36.3 billion.) The Frankfurt-based bank wrote down asset-backed securities by 845 million euros in the quarter as the US subprime crisis eroded the value of debt investments. “We welcome the recognition that consolidation needs to happen,'' Perlet said, adding that private banks' market share in Germany is too small. “There is a window of opportunity and the time is ripe'' for banking consolidation. Deutsche Post AG, majority owner of Bonn-based Postbank, said it's assessing a possible sale. Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, Germany's two biggest banks by assets, have expressed an interest in the bank, Germany's biggest retail lender with more than 14.5 million customers and 850 branches. New York-based Citigroup, the biggest US bank, today announced a plan to shed about $400 billion of assets over three years to return to profitability. “There will be more'' divestitures, Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit told investors at a meeting at the bank's New York headquarters.
