Banks quake as news of merger breaks
The merger of Bank Pekao and BPH is set to create the country's biggest lender, with assets of zł.110 billion, or nearly a quarter of all Polish banking assets, and a leading position in most market segments.
The merger, which would result from UniCredito's planned takeover of HVB, has already spooked unions at the two Polish banks as analysts say as many as 6,000 jobs could go during the biggest consolidation ever in the Polish banking market.
A survey carried out by private pollster Pentor revealed that the vast majority of the country's bank chiefs are concerned about the move.
"We asked bankers what their feelings are about the merger, and generally their response was that they were scared," Pentor chief Eugeniusz Śmiłowski said.
"One fourth support the possible merger, while the rest feel anxiety and fear. What is interesting is that the bigger a branch is, the bigger the worries of the polled managers," he said.
The survey, commissioned by the Polish Bank Association, was carried out in early June after UniCredito and HVB confirmed they were in merger talks. Around 200 bank managers took part in the survey.
"We didn't ask them what they were exactly scared of. It was too delicate an issue to discuss at that time," Śmiłowski said. Meanwhile, Poland's Pengab banking climate index rose 1.3 points to 35.8 in June, its highest level since December 2000, thanks to continued strong growth in mortgage and other consumer loans.
The merger, which would result from UniCredito's planned takeover of HVB, has already spooked unions at the two Polish banks as analysts say as many as 6,000 jobs could go during the biggest consolidation ever in the Polish banking market.
A survey carried out by private pollster Pentor revealed that the vast majority of the country's bank chiefs are concerned about the move.
"We asked bankers what their feelings are about the merger, and generally their response was that they were scared," Pentor chief Eugeniusz Śmiłowski said.
"One fourth support the possible merger, while the rest feel anxiety and fear. What is interesting is that the bigger a branch is, the bigger the worries of the polled managers," he said.
The survey, commissioned by the Polish Bank Association, was carried out in early June after UniCredito and HVB confirmed they were in merger talks. Around 200 bank managers took part in the survey.
"We didn't ask them what they were exactly scared of. It was too delicate an issue to discuss at that time," Śmiłowski said. Meanwhile, Poland's Pengab banking climate index rose 1.3 points to 35.8 in June, its highest level since December 2000, thanks to continued strong growth in mortgage and other consumer loans.
