Can PKO BP still be privatized in 2004?

If conditions are unfavorable, the process might be postponed until 2006, as the upcoming year's parliamentary elections do not bode well for such a decision. In order to accelerate privatization, the State Treasury has turned to the Office of Public Procurement with a request to change the regulations concerning the selection of a company which would advise PKO BP in privatization. Although no detailed data was released, Podsiadło said that the bank recorded a net profit in 2003, higher than that in the previous year, which amounted to zł. 1.2 billion. According to the bank's president, the scale of required additional capital will depend on the potential merger with insurer PZU. The number of employees dismissed in 2003 came to almost 1,000 which currently leaves the company with about 37,000 workers. A similar number of layoffs is anticipated for 2004. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) A.K.