Consolidation in the European insurance market is set to continue, according to Henri de Castries, the CEO of French insurance giant AXA, as reported in Reuters.
The markets are not very concentrated in Europe. There are lots of companies that are not in order strategically, Mr de Castries told Germany’s Boersen Zeitung newspaper in an interview, reported by Reuters. It is wrong to think that consolidation is over.
According to Reuters, Mr de Castries also revealed in the interview that AXA is not currently looking for acquisition opportunities in Germany, as it is concentrating on integrating the operations of Winterthur.
However, he added that AXA’s partnership with Swedish bank SEB in Germany was not sufficient and said that, as a result, AXA will be looking for new partners in the personal insurance market.
The CEO also revealed that the group will not be seeking large acquisitions in the asset management sector, but may seek to purchase smaller companies that offer specialist knowledge, reported Reuters.