Economic growth may drop to 3% of GDP, banking takeovers predicted

Vice-president of Bank Slaski, Brunon Bartkiewicz, said that he sees "negative signs that can lead to a decrease in economic growth." He added that corporate tax should be lowered to improve the situation of Polish companies. During the forum, the Gdansk Institute for Market Economics (IBnGR) presented a report in which it states that a drop in the rate of economic growth would be much more harmful for Polish banks than to international ones. "International banks are much more effective than their Polish counterparts," states IBnGR report. Institute experts predict that in the near future, a group of financially strong banks will emerge, taking over smaller, weaker banks and creating large financial consortia which would battle for clients. (Gazeta Wyborcza, pages 20, 23)