The head of Dresdner Kleinwort, the rebranded investment banking arm of German insurer Allianz, is aiming to more than double its return on equity by 2009 to keep pace with its rivals, following its most recent bout of restructuring.

Sources close to Stefan Jentzsch, chief executive of Dresdner Kleinwort, said he wants to boost the investment bank's return on equity to between 20% and 25% in the next three years, depending on market conditions. The bank's return on equity was just over 10% last year. Jentzsch is also aiming to cut the cost-income ratio from 92% at the end of 2005 to about 70% by 2009, and double earnings to €4bn ($5bn) in under five years.