Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy thinks big in latest strategic-development plan

Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy (BPH) has announced its five-year development-strategy plan. The company has segmented the market into retail, corporate, insurance, international and hypothetical sectors. BPH wants to lower the costs-revenue ratio from the current 70% to 55% by 2004, triple net profits by the end of 2004 from zl. 172 million to zl 525 million, and increase its retail-sector presence. Currently, BPH has 800,000 customers and is ranked fourth with respect to the number of individual checking- and saving-accounts it has. To improve customer relations, it has introduced internet banking, and is currently testing the viability of accessing accounts via mobile phones. It is not yet clear who, if at all, apart from Commercial Union and Compensa, will be partners in the insurance sector. In addition, BPH president Joseph Wancer has not ruled out an eventual merger with Powszechny Bank Kredytowy (PBK). "We're leaving it up to our owners to decide," says Wancer. (Puls Biznesu, page 6-7) P.S.