Cable competitors vie for investment from BRE Bank

BRE Bank has pulled out of its planned investment in cable television network Multimedia Polska. The bank's change of heart came in the wake of protests from Gdynia-based Cable Television Vectra (TK Vectra), in which BRE Bank and its subsidiaries have already invested zl.120 million. Vectra said that if BRE Bank granted special loans to its competitor Multimedia, it would consider it as a breech of its own investment contract with the bank. According to Tomasz Wegrzynski, president of TK Vectra, the loan to Multimedia Polska would support unfair competition, and BRE Bank's reputation as an institution of public trust could suffer. BRE Bank refused to comment on the details of the matter. Spokesperson Alicja Kos would only say that the bank is obliged to keep the matter confidential. Market analysts believe that the next step may be a consolidation of Vectra, Multimedia and TK Dami, a third cable operator. By losing the BRE Bank financing, Multimedia will leave Vectra as the dominant player on the cable TV market. (Puls Biznesu, p. 4) M.T.K.