Bayerishe Landesbank proposes purchase of Amerbank

In a statement released last Friday, Bayerische Landesbank disclosed that it had submitted a request to the National Bank of Poland's (NBP) Commission for Bank Supervision, to acquire AmerBank. However, according to Reuters, Bayerische Landesbank had modified the proposal and would only bid for a 33% stake. This was in view of an attempt by German bank DG to buy 29% of AmerBank. AmerBank, which trades on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), on Monday recorded a 10% gain. According to a BLB ranking, AmerBank, with an after-tax profit of zl. 15.2 million for 1997, is ranked 34 in Poland and is constantly improving its position in the retail banking sector. (Gazeta Wyborcaza, page 13)