Bank Zachodni WBK promises dividend payout from 2001 net profit
Bank Zachodni WBK (BZ WBK) said yesterday that an efficiency drive and plans
to grow its business would enable it to capitalize on an expected rebound in
credit growth this year. Chief executive Jacek Ksen told Reuters that BZ
WBK, a unit of Allied Irish Bank, would post stronger earnings in 2002 and
said his bank would likely earmark a fifth of last year's net profit for a
dividend payout. Earlier the bank, which releases its preliminary results
for full-year 2001 on February 14, said it expected to have earned zl.154
million last year. "We think that with interest rates falling in Poland, we
should make more money on good-quality credits," said Ksen. BZ WBK showed a
net profit of zl.160 million after the first three quarters of last year, up
54% from the same period of 2000. But its net earnings tumbled nearly 80% in
the third quarter. Ksen declined to say what the bank's end-year result was
in 2001. (Reuters)
