BRE Bank; bad results blamed on capital market failures

BRE Bank reported net profits of zl. 26.2 million for the first quarter of 2002, which is three times less than in the same period last year, when the bank made zl. 83.8 million. BRE bank's capital group recorded a loss of zl. 6.4 million in the period January-March 2002, compared to zl. 5.3 million profit for the first quarter of 2001. The bank has created a reserve of zl. 93.7 million for credit exposures and in the event of overvalued assets. "The poor results and high reserves are, among others, effects of our failures on the capital market. To cover our commitments in Elektrim we have a reserve of zl. 30 million, for Optimus - zl. 18.8 million, and for Szeptel a zl. 24 million reserve," said BRE Bank's chairman Wojciech Kostrzew. He added, that the current talks with Elektrim could soon come to a successful conclusion. With reference to Optimus and Szeptel, the future does not look too bright. In spite of the poor results, BRE still believes it will make zl. 408 million profit, and zl. 371 million for the group, this year. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8), M.T.