German bank sees itself as special services provider

Mitteleuro paeische Handelsbank Polska (MHB), a German bank, has officially begun its operations in Poland yesterday. The only owner of the Polish branch is the Frankfurt-am-Mein based Mitteleuro paeische Handelsbank, part of the Norddeutsche Landesbank group. The bank was created in 1973 and since then has focused on financing Polish-German trade. Four years ago 75% of the bank was still owned by Polish companies, including Pekao SA and the Polish insurance company Warta. According to MHB Polska president Edmund Zawadzki, the bank will focus on German companies in Poland, Polish importers-exporters, and will seek to offer financial services to local governments. The bank has also announced that within three months it will increase its own funds by zl. 180 million, thus reaching zl. 230 million. The bank is planning to take over from its Frankfurt owner the so called Polish credit portfolio, worth over euro 430 million. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 30; Puls Biznesu, p. 9) M.T.K.