Bank Handlowy grows despite significant spending

This may not seem overly significant, however, over the last 12 months the bank has heavily invested in preparation of an offensive on the retail market. "We are still a corporate bank, but last year as much as 24% of earnings were generated by retail banking, while in 2005 the figure stood at almost 10%," said Slawomir Sikora, president of BHW. This jump in earnings was due largely to the introduction of new products and the development of sales. In 2006 the bank merged its corporate and retail outlets and as a result, BH's credit portfolio increased by 30%, and despite it not granting mortgage loans in 2006, its commission revenues were boosted by 10%. In 2007 the bank will continue expanding into the retail market by launching mortgage loans, mortgage accounts and other products. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10)