BZ WBK to become No.2 broker after deal with CSFB

Bank Zachodni WBK is in talks with Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) to acquire its local brokerage operations. "The talks are going in the right direction. This will allow us to increase our presence in the institutional clients sector," BZ WBK spokesman Piotr Gajdzinski said in a statement yesterday. BZ WBK, a unit of Allied Irish Banks, owns a brokerage unit and equity research department but lacks critical mass that could help it attract larger clients and lower costs amid falling activity on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The combined entity would control around 10% of the market and would rank behind brokerage units run by Citigroup's Bank Handlowy, HVB's CA IB Securities and UniCredito Italiano's Pekao. The sale might be sealed in early February. (Reuters) A.K.