Caixa Geral de Depositos eyes second position at BIG BG

Portugal's state-held bank Caixa Geral de Depositos announced late last week it is interested in acquiring "at least 10%" in domestic player BIG Bank Gdanski, an announcement analysts say prompted a spurt in BIG's share price, which on Friday jumped 4.8% to zl.5.45 per share. Currently one other Portuguese player, Banko Comercial Portugues, is owner of 20% of the Polish bank. BIG's title of late has been no bellwether on stock exchanges: it reported 2000 Q4 net losses of zl.123.9 million after posting zl.46.1 million in profit a year earlier. (Reuters)