BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
28/03/2008
Poland's largest PKO BP bank eyes Belarus, Romania
PKO BP might have recorded its highest ever profit of PLN 1 billion in the 1st quarter of 2008 - it appears from the Bank's President, Rafal Juszczak's statement made on Thursday.
"Rzeczpospolita" daily newspaper reports that PKO BP's net profit in Q1 could amount to PLN 1 billion and may surpass PLN 3 billion for the whole year due to the implementation of new projects.
The so far highest quarterly profit earned by the bank was PLN 870 million in the 4th quarter of 2007.
Rafal Juszczak, PKO BP's President told TVN CNBC Biznes that he intends to beat the current leader in terms of profits - Pekao SA - within two years. Juszczak said that the bank is planning a foreign expansion. Except for Ukraine, where it is already present it is considering a presence in the Belarusian and Romanian markets.
"It is about making a major move which will significantly increase the value of PKO BP. If we want to enter another league among European banks we need to bring about a structural difference, i.e. to launch foreign investments" - the bank's President said. "Romania is a very interesting destination and I would not neglect Belarus with all the challenges it presents. I am not ruling that out, it is a possible strategy. Currently we are conducting research and analyses and we have not made a decision yet" - Juszczak added.
Source:
http://www.polishmarket.com.pl/document/:16537?p=%2FEconomic+Monitor%2F
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